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ANNALS //^ 



RECOLLECTIONS 



ONEIDA COUNTY 



■• stretch I'orlh ! stretch forlli! from the South to IheNurlli. 
I'rom the East to thi* West— stretch forth ! stretch forth ! 
Strengthen thy stakes aud lengthen thy cords— 
Tlie World is a tout for the 'World's true Lords ! 
P.reak forth and spread over every place, 
The World b a ^V'orld for the ?axon Race ! " 

ri:ppER. 



IJY POMROY JONES 



ROM E : 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHtlJ? 
1851. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, iu tlic year 1851, 

By POMROY JONES, 

In the Clerks Offko of the District Court of the United Slates for 

the Northern District of New York. 



PRINTED BY A. J. ROWLEY, ROME, N. Y 



Fr 



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O^-Tn 



P K E F A C E . 



It is DOW sixtj-seven years since James Dean and HugL 
White became permanent settlers in Oneida Count}-. Al- 
though lectures have been delivered, and half century 
sermons preached, containing valuable reminiscences of 
particular localities; yet the great body of the county has 
had little done for the preservation of its annals. 

Daring a protracted illness of his father in 1838, while 
tile Author's attendance was required near* the sick bed, 
he wrote a few chapters of early incidents, which were 
published. At the time, the Author was strongly solicited 
t ) write an extended and connected history of the County. 
His duties, as a member of the County courts, and to his 
family, then prevented it. After the adoption of our present 
Constitution, by which one, instead of five Judges, was made 
to constitute and hold those courts, — the Author was left 
free from his public duties, and he at once set about collect- 
ing the materials for the following work. 

When commencing, if he could have foreseen the amount 
of labor with which he was about to tax himself, possibly he 



IV. PREFACE. 

rniglit have quailed ; but the pleasure experienced in lii? 
researches, added to the little native perasverance he pos- 
sessed, entirely precluded the idea of an abandonment of his 
purpose. 

It has been endeavored to have every portion correct. 
In all instances, the most accurate information has been 
sought. It is not, however, to be presumed but that minor 
inaccuracies are contained in the work. There has been frc- 
([uently a very great discrepancy in the relation of the same 
transactions, by different individuals : and it has been no 
slight task to reconcile these different statements; but iu 
most cases the Author has been enabled to do so, to his 
own satisfaction. 

In relation to the military operations that occurred during 
the Revolutionary contest, there is a very great diversity in 
the statements made by different Authors. Col. Marinus 
Willett, a prominent actor in these operations, published a 
narrative detailing them, soon after the close of the war. 
This narrative has been considered the best evidence, as to the 
matters it contains. He was an eye witness, and wrote them 
out while fresh in his memory, while other authors have but 
compiled the recollections of men far advanced in life, or the 
still more unreliable evidence of tradition. 

The Author has found himself too late by a quarter of a 
century, in looking up the materials for a full and perfect 
notice of " Men and events," in the early settlement of the 
County. Even since he commenced, death has closed many 



PREFACE. V. 

lips, from vrliich miicli valuable information was expected. 
An interview was had with the late Philo White, youngest 
son of Judge White, the pioneer of Whitestown, and valu- 
able information elicited and notes taken. Another interview 
was promised ; but ere it was had — his tongue was forever 
silent ! 

Joseph Blackmer, Esq., one of the earliest settlers of the 
County, and whose obituary will be found in the history of 
Westmoreland, a man of great observation and memory, and 
whose recollections of the early days of Oneida were more 
perfect and vivid than that of almost any other individual, 
and to whom it was intended to apply, was in his grave before 
the opportunity was had ! 

Lydia Parkman, a maiden lady, who moved into West- 
moreland in 1790, and whose memory was such that her mind 
was a perfect record of whatever came to her notice in the 
first half century of her residence, died the past winter, aged 
seventy-five ! The distance to her residence was so brief, 
that it was supposed that whatever she could impart, could 
be had at almost any time ; and while looking to more 
distant sources, '• the wheel was broken ^t the cistern,"' and 
this vast reservoir was beyond our reach. 

These cases are but mentioned to show how fast all that is 
unwritten is being lost. A compiler, twenty-five years 
hence, would find little left but vague and unreliable 
tradition. 

Much aid has been rendered by veVy many individuals in 



diiferent towns in the County. The names of Amos O. 
Osborn, Esq., of Sangerfield, William C. Brewster, of 
Aunsville, and Clift French, Esq., of Western, should be 
mentioned, who left but little to be done for their townt. 
other than arranging and transcribing their manuscripts. 

The names of all his friends, who have kindly furnished 
valuable information, would swell the list too long for thi.-< 
place : they will please accept our most grateful acknow- 
ledgements. 

Joshua V. H. Clark, Esq., of Manlius, very politely gave 
permission to transcribe from liis rich history of Onondaga, 
all that was requested, relative to Oneida County. 

The two lectures of William Tracy, Esq., before the 
Young Men's Association, of Utica, containing " Notices *it 
Men and Events in Oneida County," comprised much that 
is valuable and useful, and rendered essential aid. 

Hon. O. S. Williams delivered two lectures to the Clinton 
Lyceum, on the history of that place, which have been of 
great use in preparing the notices of Kirkland. 

The Rev. Dr. Asahel S. Norton, of Clinton, preached a 
Thanksgiving sermon ; the Rev. Israel Brainard, of Verona. 
a New Year's sermon ; the Rev. Messrs. Walter R. Long 
of the Presbyterian, and Jirch D. Cole, of the Baptist church 
af Whitestown, and 0. Bartholomew, of Augusta, half 
century sermons, that contained valuable statistics of tho 
towns where delivered. The addresses, and a portion of the 
sermons liave been published, and those not published, thf 



PREFACE. VII. 

authors have kindly furnished their manuscripts, -which have 
essentially lightened the labors of compiling the annals for 
those towns. 

A native of Oneida County, born in the year 1789, and 
not once having changed his place of residence — his own 
recollections of the earlier and later times in the County, 
has enabled the Author, as he believes, to add something to 
the interest of the book. 

The work has been extended to a much greater length 
than was at first anticipated; for as the compilation pro- 
gressed, materials have accumulated entirely beyond our 
expectations. This necessarily has caused delay. Other 
causes, over which the Author and Publisher had no control, 
unnecessary, and perhaps improper to be mentioned here, 
have effected further delay ; but at length every obstacle ha? 
been surmounted, and the public have the results of years 
spent in the research. 

It is believed no higher desire need be extended to the 
readers, than that each will derive as much pleasure from 
th(! perusal, as has been experienced in the compilation. 

THE AUTHOR. 

Laird.sv.i-le. 18-51. 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

Page 1. 
Teru.i Ixcogn'ita, or unknown land — all of the country west of 
Albany. Formation of Counties and Towns, including and in- 
cluded in Oneida County. Tryon county, changed to Montgomery. 
Its limits defined. Whitcstown and its boundaries. Town of 
t!heiuung. Ontario, Tioga, Otsego and Herkimer Counties. Onon- 
daga County formed. Oneida County foriued; its boundaries. 
Three terms of Common Pleas and General Sessions. The Towns 
in Oneida County in 1801. Jetferson and Lewis Counties formed 
Oswego County formed. Formation of all the towns in the County, 
up to the present time. 

CHAPTER II. 

ONEIDA COUNTY. Page 14. 

Its location, latitude and longitude. The courses of the streams of 
water that drain the several sections of the county. Geology. 
Minerals. Elections. Town Meetings in Whitcstown. Courts. 
&c. Judges of Common Pleas and County Courts. Tables giving 
the votes for Governor for fifty years. A table giving the popula- 
tion in 1800, and each tenth year to 1850. Members of Assembly. 
Sheriffs and County Clerks. District Attorneys and Surrogate's. 
Capital trials and punishments. County organizations. Political. 
Coxe's Patent. 

CHAPTER III. 

ANNSVILLE. Page 61. 

Geology. Fish Creek and branches. Probable Lakes. Miller's 
Creek. Fall Brook. Its Falls. Kocks. Water Power. Furnace 
at Taberg. Geographical description. Soil and productions. In- 
dians. History. Antiquities. Anecdotes of Joseph W. Bloom- 
field. Mr. Gere, the well-digger ; his death by the caving in of a 
well. Elias Brewster. Bringing the cows, a' Panther. A Bear. 
William Lord drowned in the Rum Hole. Anecdote of going to 
School — and Snow in June. Names of early settlers. 



X. CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

AUGUSTA. Pace £4. 

Situation. Peter Smith leased New Petersburgh. Other Patents. 
Oneida Reservation. First settlement of the Town, and tirst set- 
tlers. Anecdote of Amos Parker. Jrancls O'Toole. Cassety's 
Mills at Oriskany Falls. Washington Street. Town Organized. 
Name. First Town Meeting. Failure of second meeting. First 
and other Merchants. Presidential Electors and Miiinbers of As- 
sembly. First death — marriage and deaths. Clergymen buried. 
Deaths by fire-arms. Murder by an Indian, and the murderer 
executed by the avenger of blood. Accidents. Academy. Large 
families. Eiisha Shephard. Bear stories. Villages. Religious 
societies. First .sermon. Col. Thomas Cassety. 

CHAPTER V. 

AVA. Page IVX 

The youngest town in the county. Ebenozer Harger the first settler. 
Names of early settlers. First savv-niill. Gristmill. Hardships. 
Head waters of the Mohawk, Black river and Fish Creek enumati 
from it. Is well watered. Horace Hoyt the only merchant. 
Lumber dealer and manufacturer of Potash. A society of Friends. 
Professional men. Common schools. School fund. Soils. Ponds. 
French r(jad. German settlers. First supervisor. 

CHAPTER VI. 

BOONVFLLE. Paok 110. 

Its territory first in Whitestown, then in Steuben, then in Ley den. 
and was organized as a town in 1805. Kortnaer first name propos- 
ed. Andrew Edmunds the first settler in 179-5. First grist and 
saw-mill. In 170G, large accessions to the settlement, and store 
and tavern erected. First death, birth and marriage. Lies ele- 
vated. Egypt. Limestone. Lumber. Canal feeder. Religious 
societies. Boonvillc village. Alder creek. Williams^ille. Num- 
ber of mills. First town meeting. Supervisors. 

CHAPTER VII. 

15RIDGEWATER. Page i'2-Z. 

Location. Bridgewater Flats. Their fertility. Head waters of the 
Unadilla. Line of property. Its history. Lime-stone. Coal — 
small vein of Dissimilarity of the east and west hills. Joseph 
Farwell first settler — came in 1788. Other early settlers. First 
tavern. First saw-mill — store — blacksmith's shop and grist-mill. 
A boy captures a young bear. Pi-eligious societies — Presbyterians 
— Friend.s — Baptists— Universalists. Academy. Bridgewater Fe- 
male Seminarv. 



CONTENTS. -^^• 

CHAPTER VII>r^^ 

CAMDEN. Pack 131- 

Composed of the 7th and one-half of the 8th townships of Scriba's 
Patent. Taken from Mexico. First town meeting. Fh-st Super- 
visor and town clerk. Soil. Building stone. First settler. First 
saw-mill. By whom raised. Early settlers. Mrs. Bacon and in- 
fant drowned ; ther were the first deaths in the town. Camden 
village. West Camden. Mills. Religious societies. Incidents. 

CHAPTER IX. 

DEERFIELD. Page 130. 

Tlie east line of Oneida county. Deerfield organized. First town 
meeting. First settlers in 1773. Driven off by the Indians and 
Tories in 1776. Timely notice by an Oneida Indian. All escaped. 
After incidents of the first settlers during the Revolutionary war. 
Removed back in 1784. Soil. Deerfield hill. Deerfield corners. 
Religious societies. Baptists. Eld. John Lelaud. Methodists. 
North Deerfield and South Trenton Baptists. Mills. 

CHAPTER X. 

FLORENCE. Paob 140. 

First settlement of the town. First settlers. Soil. Anecdote of -a 
boy. Quarries. Streams of water. Organization of the town. — 
First town meeting. Description of the place, List of Supervi- 
sors. Florence village. Its business and tanneries. Religions 
societies— Congregational — Methodist — Baptist, lleminiscences. 
Mi'.ls. 

CHAPTER XI. 

FLOYD. Page Ijj. 

Named from Gen. Floj^d, who owned lands in its bounds. Probably 
when, and by whom first settled. Early settlers in the different 
par;s of the town. The Moulton family. Their sulferings in the 
Revolution. William Allen, Esq. Samuel Dyer, Esq. Anecdote 
ui Capt. Nathan Townsend. Geology and Soil. First Deaths. 
Sickness. List of Supervisors. FirNt tavern. Religious Socie- 
ties and houses for public worship. Union House, erected und.er 
peculiar articles of agreement. Baptists. Welsh Methodists. 
Schools. Flo3'd Corners. Nine-mile Creek. Obituaries of early 
.settlers. 

CHAPTER XII. 

KIRKLAND. Page 105. 

Settlement commenced. Names of early settlers ; had visited the 

place the previous fall ; disagreement and settlement as to the place 

to commence; their first doraicils. First female who arrivetl. 

Building lots. Clearing. Washington and Clinton land-holders. 



Xri. CONTENTS. 

TIk' nearest mill. Going io mill. Saw mill. First religious 
. meeting. Contentment. Death by drowning of Miss Tattle 
Thomas Fancher killed by a tailing tree. Mercy Stebbins, third 
liealli. First marriages. First birth. Accessions. Famine in 
ITHD. Rcliei' by Isaac Paris. First framed hou.se.s and barns. 
Thomas Hart. Bears. Local names. Dreaming match. Harts 
store robbe;!. P..eligioiis Societies. Geology. Manchester. Ham- 
ilton Oneida Academy. Hamilton College. A. M.Stowe's adiire.<>. 
Biography of Sainael Kirkland. Notice of Moses Foote. Jesse 
('urti.ss and his obituary; his ancient Bible. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

LEE. Page •2'^. 

Fir.-t settlement and .settlers of the town. Ideas of the Connecticut 
peuple of its location. Patents. Its territory: in what counties 
and towns, previous to its organization. Organized in 1811. 
By whom named. First town meeting. First supervi^or and town 
clerk. List of supervisors. Soil and productions. Bears ; the 
two Cunninghams kill one. Fir.st death, Mrth and marriage. 
Fir.-^t saw and grist mill. First school-house. Course of discipline. 
Business. Religious .societies. Schools. Early fi.shery. Lee Cen- 
tre. Nisbet's Corners. Robert Ni.sbet. Delta; its business. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MARCY. Page 237. 

In 17-10. an emigrant, by the name of Wilson, leaves Ireland, and 
comes to Connecticut, trorn thence to Vermont; eight of his sofl* 
in the Continental army . one of his sons the first settler in Marcy, 
who is soon followed by two brothers. Cu.stoms and anecdotes ol 
the fir.st settlers. A hunter. Healthy. Schools. Indians. Busi- 
ness. Religious societies. Named from Gov. Marcy, -who visited 
tlie town. 

CHAPTER XY. 

MARSHALL. Paue S>4T. 

liYolhertown Indians. Land given them by the Oneidas. A part 
.settled here previous to the Revolution; they mostly left just pre- 
vious to that war : Wampy and one or two others remained. Ren- 
contre between Wampy and a hostile Indian. After peace the In- 
dians returned; in 1831, commenced .selling and removing to Green 
Bay. First .settlement of the town by the whites. Names of some 
of tiie first settlers. Geology. Religious societies. Henrich Star- 
ing's escape from the Indians at this place ; his Yankee pass and 
decision. Villages. Addenda. Book of Indian records discovered. 
Clerks. Lands assigned to them. Their town meetings. Bv-laws. 
Fugitive slaves. Proceedings in a treaty with the western Indians. 
Inscription on grave stones. 



CONTENTS, xnr^ 

CHAPTER XVI. 

NfeVV HARTFORD. Page '2'-2. 

The settlement of the town was commenced in 1788 by Col. San^'er; 
moved his family the next spring ; he built the first saw and grist 
mill. Names of early settlers in different parts of tlie town. Ccn- 
>truction of the Seneca turnpike in 1800; one cause of rapid growth 5 
its prosperity for a time, injured by the construction of the Erit- 
Canal. Present business of the village. First child born. Re- 
ligious societies. Incidents in relation to Mr. Johnson's ordination. 
First house for public worship in the county. Biography of Judge 
Sanger. Gen. Oliver Collins. Manufactures. Mills. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

PARIS. Paoe :^'i-P. 

First .settler and settlers in the f0Wn.~ Congregational Church in 1791. 
Mr. Steele; his epitaph; persecutions of, in Shay's war. A chaji- 
ter of crime. Monuments in the Paris Hill Cemetery. George 
Stanton burned in his hoivse. Episcopalian Churcli at Paris Hill. 
Sauquoii ; first settlement of this section. Names of the early set- 
tlers. Incident in ;^ie life of Kirkland Grifhn. Benjamin Merrills. 
First store and tavern. Methodist and Union Presbyterian societies. 
Cassville; first settlers ; it!< churches. Business on the Sauquoit 
Creek ; a reminiscence of the supposed capability of the stream. 
Col. Gardner Avery; his obituary. Of Edward Scoville. Mills. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

REMSEN. Page 304. 

Location, streams of water, soil and productions. Geology, rocks and 
minerals. From whom nained. Patents, New stimulants for the 
settling of the north part of the town. First settlement, in 1792, by 
Barnabas Mitchell. Hardships. Reinforced in 1793. First death 
and birth. Arrival of Welsh emigrants in 1808; their characteris- 
tics. Religious societies. Schools. Remsen village ; its first set- 
tlement; its present business. Intemperance and temperance. Rc- 
ehabite tent. Mills. Fir.st town meeting in 1798. List of super- 
visors. Obituary of John G. Jones. 

CHAPTERXIX. 

ROME. Page 3U 

Ancient carrying-place, with the Dutch and Indian names; first. 
notice of it; tradition. Fort Bull. Fort Williams; destroyed bv 
Gen. Webb. Itinerary ; description of the country. Pitt. Port 
vSlanwix erected. Roof and Brodock; obituary of the former. In 
1776, the fort repaired; in 1777, St. Leger sent to take it; invests 
it; events during the .siege. Oriskany battle; Wiliett's sortie; 
death of Herkimer. Arnold arrives at Fort Dayton. Han Yost 
Schuyler. Siege raised. Various reminiscences. First settlement 
of the town. Early settlers. Old canal. Peter Colt. George 
Huntington. War of 1812. United States ar.senal. Erie Canal. 
Syracuse and Utica rail-road. Academy. Schools. Religious 
societies. Old newspaper. Obituaries of Ebenezer Wright and 
Edward Potter. Addenda. 



XI \-. CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XX. 

SANGERFIELD. Pa&k 401. 

^\ umber 20 of the twenty townships. Surveyed in 1780. Purcha.sed 
1790. Firtit settler, Zerah Phelps, in 1792. Name.s of early set-. 
tiers. A fre-shet. Early frost. Accident to Mr. Clark. Fir.stborn, 
a female. Included in Paris. Alarm from the Indians. Amusing 
Indian anecdote. Fir.st born male. Col. Norton. First marriage. 
17.13 favorable. Large reinforcement of emigrants. Great use of 
hake kettles. First store. In 1795, the town of Sangerfield organ- 
ized. Finst town meeting. First supervisor. First post office. 
Number of taxable inhabitants in 179G. The first physician. In 
1798, Chenango County formed, including Sangerfiefd. In 1801, 
.■<et to Oneida. Religious societies. Newspapers. Location. Ge- 
ology. Streams of water. Villages. Murderof Benjamin White, 
List of supervisors. Obituary. 

CHAPTER XXr. 

STEUBEN. Page 42?, 

i jr^jani^ed in 1792. Finst tow^n meeting near Fort Stanwix. In 179G. 
Rome and Floyd taken from it; and, in 179G, Western and Lcyden, 
Elevated location. Steuben and Star's hill. Rocks. Fir.st settlers. 
First birth and marriage. Biography of Baron Steuben; anecdotes 
of the Baron; the Baron's grave. Wonderful occurrence. No 
tavern. Longevity. Religious societies. Printing office. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

TRENTON. Pagk 4-19. 

l-'irst settler. Oldenbarnevekl. Mr. Boon, agent for the Holland 
Land Company. Service's Patent. Anecdote of Peter Smith. 
Destruction of the Johnson papers. Col. Mappa and Dr. Vander- 
kemp. Hardships at Oldenbarnevekl. Other early settlers. First 
saw and grist mill. First town meeting. Geology, Agriculture. 
Trenton Falls. Moonlight Reveries. Accidents at "the Falls, 
Cavern. Villages. Holland's Patent ; its historv. Religious so- 
cieties. Biography. Dr. Guiteau. Dr. Vanderkemp. 

CHAPTER XXIII.- 

UTICA. Page 480. 

Earliest mention of its site, Indian name, Fort Schuyler. Notice 
of in Edinburgh Encyclopedia. Survey of Cosby's Manor. Notice 
of early settlers. Uriahand William Alverson ; theMoreys; Bran- 
cis Foster ; Silyea ; Josei)h Soule ; James S. Kip ; Stephen Potter ; 
'.lohu Post, the first merchant; John Cunningham; Jacob Christ- 
man; Mr.s. Petrie. Anecdotes of ir'aucy Nick and Brant. In 1794 
inhabitants of. Dr. Carrington; Peter Bellinger ; John Bellinger. 
First Bridge in 1792. Names and Notices of many of the promif • 
ncnt settlers and inhabitants. Amount of Taxes in 1800. Titles of 
the laud. John Bradstreet. Western Sentinel. Whitestown Ga- 
zette and Cato's Patrol. Columbian Gazette. Erie canal. Packet.'*. 



CONTENTS. XV. 

Missionary tour of John Taylor. Meetings in behalf of the Greeks 
and Poles. LetterofLaFayettc. Meeting of Abolitionists. Coun- 
ter meeting. Record of prominent events. History of the corpo- 
ration. Population at different periods. Churches. Institutions, 
Associations, Companies, &c., &c. New York State Lunatic Asy- 
lum. Forest Hill Cemetry. Banks. Globe mills. Steam cotton 
mills. )Vater works. Gas works. Ancient Britons' Society. Me- 
chanics' Associations. Schools. Academy. Female Seminary. 
Common Schools. Secret Societies. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

VERNON. Page 634. 

Settled late. Includes the princijial Oneida village. Early M'ealtli 
Oneida Reservation. Bleecker's, Baschard's, Van Eps' and Ser-. 
geant's Patents. First settlers. First death. Names of settlers. 
Emigrants. Their characteristics. First marriage and birth. — 
Geology. Mineral spring. Religious societies. Organization of 
the town. First town meeting. Grist Mills. Supervisors. Lo- 
cal names. Accidents. Schools. Biography. Anecdotes. Epi- 
taph of Rev. John Sergeant. Indian Orchard. 

CHAPTER XXY. 

VERONA. Pagk 6G2. 

Size. First settlers. A Romance. First death. Royal block liouse. 
Early settlers of the town, dead and living. Notice of Elizabeth 
Whaley Matteson. Organization of the to'i\Ti. First town meet- 
ing. Supervisors. First election. Accidents. Sickness, 1805. 
Improvement. Villages. Geology. Medicinal spring. Religious 
Societies. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

VIENNA. Page 090. 

Organized. Townships 9 and 10 Scriba's Patent. Face of the town 
and timber. Lumber. A^riculfure. Quarry. Oneida Lake. 
Voters. Saw and grist mills. Bears. Frenchman's Deer hunt. 
King himt in 1820. Villages. McConnellsvillc. North Bay. Vi- 
enna. West Vienna and Fish Creek Landing. Religious Societies, 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

WESTERN. Page 099. 

Boundaries and size. Time and by whom the settlement was com- 
menced. Their seed, grain and potatoes brought from Herkimer. 
Leases, the most common conveyances. Roads and first bridge 
across the Mohawk. Incorporation of the town and first town 
meeting. Supervisors. Waters. Face of the to^^-n. Geology, &c, 
Original Patentees. Schools. Westernville. Mills and other bu- 
siness establishments. Religious societies. Their charity to each 
other. Biography of Gen, Floyd. Anecdotes of 



XVI. CONTEKTS. 

CHAPTEE XXVIII. 

WESTMORELAND. Page 713. 

Foiirth town settliid. Dean's Patent. Wemple's and Kiikland'.s Pat- 
ents. First settlement and settlers. Anecdote ol" Epliraini Black- 
mcr's last day's journey. Other settlers arrive. History of Nathan 
Loomis' Farm. Titles of Farms. Hardships. Mills erected. — 
•Settlers in diflerent parts. Geology. A Hurricane. Historical 
Reminiscences. Ages of twenty persons. First deaths— marriages. 
Merchants. Religious Societies. Biography. A second Cente- 
narian, rjchools and school-houses. Villages. 

C 11 xV P T E K X X I X . 

WH£TESTO\VN. Paoe 7&i. 

The first permanent settlement in the County. The beauties of 
Central and Western New York discovered by New England sol- 
diers, in the old French and Revolutionary wars. Hugh White, 
the tirst settler. His journey, age, and family. Sauquoit Patent. 
Mills. Law suit. A Samp mortar. Scarcity. Philo White. Pi- 
geons. Early Settlers. Notices of. Wrestling match. Traits ol" 
judge White. Indians. Religious Societies. First organization 
of the Town. ■ Its limits. Spirit of the early inhnbifants. Offices 
held by them. Western Centinel. Salt manufacturers. Villages. 
Aboriginal remains. Two obituaries of Revolutionaiy Soldiers. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

INDIANS. Page t33. 

The Six Nations. Their name as given by themselves and others.— 
iRoauois most general. Population at various periods. Onkida.v. 
Their History. Missionaries to. Characteristics. Their Wars 
and their connection with the Dutch, English and French. Con- 
linued. Piatt copf. Scanandoa. Present condition of the Tribe. 
Visit to the remnant. Indian names of persons and localities. 0.s- 
ceola"s Anecdotes. Tdscaroras. From whence — their history and 
wars. Emigrate to near Oneida. Become the Si.x.th Nation. Join 
'he Americans in the Revolutionary war. Stockbridce Indians. 
Their history. Missionaries and Missions School. Emigrate to 
New Siockbridge— to Green Bay. Tradition of Brothertons. 
Their History. " Samjon Occum. They emigrate to this County. 
Thence to Green Bav. 



mTKODUCTOKY CHAPTER. 



The Dutch originally settled and governed the territory 
■within the present limits of the State of New York, and by 
them it was called New Netherlands. As late as 1638 that 
portion of it lying west of Fort Orange (Albany) was termed 
by the Dutch chroniclers, " Terra Incognita" or Unknown 
Land. In 1674 the Dutch finally surrendered the colony 
to the English, and it was named New York, in honor of the 
3)uke of York, to whom the colony had been granted by 
(yharles II in 1664. It had, however, been surrendered by 
the Dutch Gov. Stuyvesant, in 1664, to the English, by 
whom it was held until 1673, when it was taken by the 
Dutch, and held by them until the next year. In 1683 the 
colony was divided by its Legislature into twelve counties, 
viz.: — New York, Albany, Dutchess, Kings, Queens, Orange, 
Ulster, Richmond, Sufiblk, Westchester, Dukes, and Corn- 
wall. In 1768 and 1770, the counties of Cumberland and 
(Jloucester were added. Dukes and Cornwall, after a bitter 
controversy, were surrendered to Massachusetts in 1693 ; and 
a part of Gloucester and Cumberland was, after a quarrel, 
coded to New Hampshire, and now forms a part of Vermont ; 
and the portion of the two counties retained was formed into 
a county called Charlotte, now Washington County. 

This chapter is written to show the changes made in the 
territory now or formerly in. or connected with, the territory 

1 



2 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

of the County of Oneida, including the formation of counties 
and towns, and the changes made in their boundaries. 

In 1772 the County of Tryon was formed from the terri- 
tory of Albany County lying westwardly of a line running 
nearly north and south through the present County of Scho- 
harie. The name Tryon having become highly obnoxious 
from the active hostility and acts of wanton cruelty of Gov. 
Tryon towards the Americans during the Revolution, the 
Legislature, on the 2d of April, 1784, changed the name of 
Tryon County to Montgomery, in honor of the General of 
that name who had fallen at Quebec. By the same act 
Montgomery County was divided into five districts, calleil 
Mohawk, Canajoharrie, Palatine, German Flats, and Kings- 
land. German Flats district included all the western part 
of the State, and was then an unbroken forest, excepting a 
few German settlements upon the 3Iohawk. Kingsland dis- 
trict included the northern part of Herkimer County, and 
extended westwardly to the West Canada Creek. In 178tj 
Montgomery County contained fifteen thousand and fifty- 
seven inhabitants. 

By the act of March 7, 1788, defining the boundaries of 
the several counties in this State, the County of Montgomery 
was declared to contain "all that part of this State bounded 
easterly by the Counties of Ulster, Albany, "Washington. 
and Clinton ; southerly by the State of Pennsylvania ; and 
westerly and northerly by the west and north bounds of thi.-< 
State." By an act of the same date the following town-; 
in Montgomery County were bounded and described, viz. :— 
('aughnawaga. Palatine, Herkimer, Mohawk, Harpersfield, 
(Jtsego, Canajo^harrie, German Flats, and Whitestown. By 
:in act of the same date, German Flats district was divided. 
and the town of White's Town (thus written) was formed, 
and bounded easterly by a line running north and south to 



I.] INTRODUCTORV CHAPTER. 3 

tlic north and soutli bounds of the State, and crossing the 
IMohawk River at the Ford near, and on the east side of, the 
house of William Cunningham, and which line was the west- 
ern boundary of the towns of Herkimer, German Flats, and 
Otsego; southerly by the State of Pennsylvania; and west 
and north by the bounds of the State. 

The house of William Cunningham referred to, stood near 
the foot of Grenesee street in Utica, and upon, or near the site 
of the store now occupied by Stephen Comstock. These 
were the boundaries of the County of Oneida in embryo^ in 
1788; but we shall see that, by subsequent enactments, it.s^ 
eastern line was removed eastwardly to its present position 
at the eastern boundary of the county. 

33y an act passed March 22, 1788, the town of Chemung 
was formed in and from a part of Montgomery County lying 
on the Owego and Tioga Rivers, but its bounds would be 
hardly intelligible now. 

By an act passed January 27, 1789, the County of On- 
tario Avas formed and bounded as follows: — "All that part 
of the County of Montgomery which lies to the westward of 
a line to be drawn due north to Lake Ontario from the mile 
stone or monument, marked cighUj-Hvo, and standing in the 
line of division between this State and the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, shall be one separate and distinct county, and 
be called and known by the name of Ontario.'' 

By an act passed Feb. 16, 1791, Montgomery County was 
divided, and the Counties of Tioga, Otsego, and Herkimer 
formed from its territory, and the bounds of the County of 
Ontario changed. 

The County of Herkimer (including the present territory 
of Oneida) was bounded as follows: — "All that tract of land 
bounded westerly by the County of Ontario, northerly by 
the north bounds of this State, easterly by the Counties of 



4 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAr. 

(Uinton, Wasliiiigton, and Saratoga, and southerly by the 
(-ounties of Montgomery, Otsego, and Tioga." The nortli 
parts of the towns of Pahitine and Caughnawaga, lying north 
of a line beginning at a place called Jersey Fields, on the 
line between the towns of Herkimer and Palatine, and 
thence easterly to Saratoga County, were added to Herkimer 
County. 

By an act passed April 1 0, 1 792, the town of Whitestown 
was divided, and the towns of Westmoreland, Steuben, Paris, 
Mexico, Peru, and Whitestown formed of its territory. 

Westmoreland was bounded by a line beginning at the 
eastern line of the Oneida reservation, where the line of 
Steuben crosses the same, thence southerly and westerly 
along said reservation line to a point opposite the south-west 
corner of a tract granted to Abraham Wemple. tlience along 
the southern line of Wemple's tract to the " old line of pro- 
perty," thence northerly at right angles with said line of 
property to the Oriskany Creek, thence down said creek to the 
houthern bounds of the Oriskany Patent, thence north-west- 
erly parallel to the old line of property to '• Steuben Town." 
thence along the line of Steuben to the place of beginning. 
First town meeting to be held at the house of James Dean. 

Steuben was all that part of Whitestown bounded as fol- 
lows: — Beginning at the mouth of the Nine Mile Creek, 
running thence north-eastwardly to the north-east corner of 
Holland Patent, thence northerly along the eastern bounds 
of Steuben's Patent to the north-east corner thereof, thence 
due north to the northern bounds of the State, and also from 
the place of beginning due west to the line of the Oneida 
reservation, thence north-west along said line to Fish Creek, 
thence due north to the northern bounds of the State. First 



l] INTRODUCTORY CIIAPTEK. fi 

town meeting at the house of Seth Ranney, near Fort 
Stanwix. 



Paris vi^as all that part of Whitestown bounded as follows: 
— Beginning at Stillman's Bridge on Oriskany Creek, thence 
south-easterly to the house of Jas. Fairwell, on lot No. 80 in 
the 7th Division of Cox's Patent, thence southerly in a direct 
line until it meets the New Hartford road, where it crosses a 
creek a few rods west from the house of Samuel Wells, 
thence southerly in a line to the south-western corner of lot 
No. 7 in the 11th Division of Cox's Patent, thence due east 
to the line of German Flats, thence southerly along said line 
to Tioga County, thence westerly along the line of Tiogii, 
County to the western line of the twenty Townships, thence 
northerly to the line of Oneida reservation, thence along the 
last line to the line of Westmoreland, thence along the last 
line to the place of beginning. First town meeting at the 
house of Moses Foote, Esq. 

Mexico was all that part of Whitestown bounded as fol- 
lows; — Easterly by the eastern bounds of the Military Tract, 
and a line drawn northward from the mouth of the Connisse- 
rago Creek across Oneida Lake to Lake Ontario, southerly by 
Tioga County, westerly by the western bounds of the town- 
ships of Homer, Tully, Marcellus, Camillus, Lysander, and 
Hannibal, of said Military Tract, and northerly by Lake 
Ontario. First town meeting at the house of Benjamin 
Moorehouse. 

Peru was all that part of Whitestown bounded easterly by 
the town of Mexico, southerly by Tioga County, westerly by 
Ontario County, and northerly by Lake Ontario. First 
town meeting at the house of Seth Phelps, Esc|. 



G ANNALS OF ONKIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

All the rcnninder of Whitestown to be aiid remain a town 
Jjy the name of Whitestown. and the first town meeting to be 
held at the house of Jedediah .Sanger, Esq. 

The County of Onondaga was formed by an act of March 
5. 1794, and was composed of the Military Tracts. 

Ey an act passed March 5, 1795, the town of Cazenovia 
w-as formed of parts of the towns of AVhitestown and Paris, 
Herkimer County ; and the towns of Hamilton, Sherburne, 
Brookfield, and Sangerfield, were formed of parts of Paris. 

By an act passed Feb. 26, 1796, the town of Mexico wa.s 
formed of part of Herkimer County, v/itli bounds diflerent 
from those stated on last page. The reasons why this town 
was twice formed, are not stated. The bounds of Mexico as 
now formed were as follows: — Beginning at the north-west- 
ern corner of Fonda's 40.000 acre patent, thence along the 
Avestern side of Canada Creek to Wood Creek, thence down 
Wood Creek to Oneida Lake, thence through the middle of 
Oneida Lake to its western end, thence to the northern shore 
tif Onondaga River, thence down that river to Lake Ontario, 
thence easterly and northerly along the shore of that lake 
to the mouth of Black River, thence up that river to the 
northern corner of 25,000 acres sold by Wm. Constable to 
'Wm. Inman, thence southerly 37 deg. 30 min. Avest along 
the north-western bounds of the last-named tract to the 
north-Avestern corner of Oothout's Patent, thence southerly 
1 deg. west along the western line of the last-named patent 
to the place of beginning. First toAvn meeting at the house 
'of John Myer, " in Rotterdam, in said town of Mexico." 

By an act passed March 4, 1796, the town of Steuben, 
Herkimer County, was divided, and the towns of Floyd and 
Rome erected from its territory. Floyd was bounded as 
follows: — Beginning at the north-western corner of the great 
Jot No. 36 in Fonda's ]-*atent. and thence along the western 



r.] INTE.ODUCTOIIY CIIArTER. 7 

hounds of that lot and lots Nos. 50, G'3, and 71 in Fonda's 
Patent, and in the same course continued to the southern 
bounds of Steuben, thence easterly along the same to the 
mouth of the Nine Mile Creek, then along the south-eastern 
liounds of Steuben until a western line shall intersect the 
north-eastern corner of the great lot 41 in Fonda's Patent, 
thence along said line and the northern bounds of said lot 4 1 
and lots Nos. 40, 39, 38, 37, and 36 in Fonda's Patent to the 
jilace of beginning. First town meeting at the house of 
Saml. J. Curtiss. 

The town of Rome was bounded as follows, viz. : — All 
that part of Steuben bounded northerly by a line to begin at 
the north-western corner of said town of Floyd, aiid then 
directly along the northern bounds of great lots Nos. 35, 34) 
33, 32, 31, 30, 29, and 83 in Fonda's Patent to Canada 
<"reek, thence down said creek to its junction with Wood 
Creek, thence along the western and the southern bounds of 
said town of Steuben to the south-west corner of Floyd, 
thence along the western bounds thereof to the place of be- 
ginning. First town meeting to be held at the house of 
Ebenezer Clafiin. The first town meeting in Steuben was 
to be held at the house of Joshua Wells. 

By an act passed March 10, 1797, the town of Steuben, 
Herkimer County, was divided into three towns, viz.: — 
Steuben, Western, and Ley den. The first town meetings 
were to be held as follows: — In Steuben, at the late residence 
of Baron Steuben, deceased ; in Western, at the house of 
Ezek. Sheldon ; and in Leyden, at the house of Andrew 
Edmonds. 

By an act passed March 24, 1797, the town of Schuyler, 
Herkimer County, was divided, and the town of Trenton 
formed from its territory, and bounded as follows, viz.: — 
Beginning at a point in the western line of Schuyler, four 



8' ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

miles north in the direction of said western line from Mohawk 
River, then northerly on said line to the north-western corner 
of said Schuyler, thence easterly on said town line to the 
great Falls on Canada Creek, thence down said creek to the 
north-western corner of lot No. 55 Gage's Patent, thence on 
the western line of said patent south to the north-western 
corner of lot No. 18 on said patent, thence westerly in a 
straight line to the place of beginning. First town meeting 
at the House of Thos. Weeks. Remainder of Schuyler to 
be the town of Schuyler, and first town meeting at the house 
of Geo. G. Weber — -now Weaver. 

By an act also passed March 24, 1797, the town of Sau- 
gerfield, Herkimer County, was divided, and the town of 
Bridgwater formed of its territory, and bounded as follows, 
viz.: — "All that part of the town of Sangerfield lying east- 
erly of the division line between the third and fourth quar- 
ters of the twentieth township so called, be, and is hereby 
erected into a separate town, by the name of Bridgwater.'' 
First town meeting to be held at the house of Thos. Conver.s: 
and first town meeting in the town of Sangerfield, thus newly 
formed, at the house of Ebenezer Hale. 

At this time Herkimer and Montgomery constituted the 
Ninth Congressional District. 

An act was passed March 15, 1798, dividing the County 
of Herkimer, and forming the additional Counties of Oneida 
and Chenango from its territory. The boundaries of Oneida 
were as follows, viz.: — "All that part of Herkcmer County 
beginning at the south-west corner of the town of Bridg- 
water, and running thence easterly on the line of said town 
to the Unadilla River, thence northerly and easterly on the 
line of Bridgwater to the town of Litchfield, thence north- 
erly on the line of Bridgwater and Litchfield to the south- 
cast corner of the town of Paris, thence the same line 



I.J INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 

continued on the eastern line of Pai-is and Wlutestown to 
tlie southerly line of Cosby's Manor, thence north-easterly 
in a direct line to the northerly bounds of said Cosby's 
Manor, at a point where the same is intersected by the 
division line between Gage's and Walton's Patents, thence 
northerly on the line between the said Walton's and Gage's 
Patents to the West Canada Creek, thence northerly up 
the waters of said creek to the forks thereof, thence east- 
erly up the east branch of said creek to the north-east corner 
of Service's Patent, thence northerly to the northern bounds 
of this State, thence westerly along the northern bounds of 
this State to Lake Ontario, thence along the easterly shore of 
said lake to the mouth of the Oswego River, thence easterly 
up said river to the Oneida Lake, thence along the southern 
side of said lake to the Oneida Creek, thence up said creek 
on the eastern line of the County of Chenango to the north- 
ern line of the town of Hamilton, thence easterly along the 
northern bounds of said towns of Hamilton and Sangerfield 
to the north-western corner of the town of Bridgwater, thence 
southerly on the western line of said town of Bridgwater to 
the place of beginning." 

In the County of Oneida three terms of the Court of 
Common Pleas and General Sessions were to be held annu- 
ally, viz.: — On the third Tuesday in May, first Tuesday in 
September, and last Tuesday in December, at "the School 
House near Fort Stanwix ;" but no Circuit Court was to be 
held in the County unless the Justices of the Supreme 
Court should "in their judgment deem it proper and neces- 
sary." Oneida and Chenango were to form a part of the 
district previously composed of Herkimer and Otsego, re- 
specting all prosecutions in the Court of Oyer and Terminer. 
The same act provided that a Court House and Jail should 
"be erected at such place Avithin one mile of Fort Schuyler,. 



10 A^N'ALS OF OXEIDA COUNTY. [CILVr 

otherwise Fort Stanwix, in the town of Home, as the Super- 
visors" should designate ; also tliat tliis County should be 
represented by tliree Members of Assembly, and that the 
iirst meeting of the Board of Supervisors should be held at 
the School House in Rome, on the last Tuesday in May. 

By the terms of the same act, all that part of the town of 
Frankfort included within the boundaries of Oneida, should 
be added to the town of Whitestown ; and all that part of 
Schuyler included within Oneida was erected into a new 
town called Deersfield, and the first town meeting in the 
latter was to ])e held at the house of Ezra Payne : and all 
that part of Norway included in Oneida was erected into a 
new town by the name of Bemsen. and its first town meeting 
wa;S to be held at the house of Samuel Howe. 

By the same act all that part of Whitestown bounded 
westerly and southerly by the County of Chenango, eastei'ly 
by Brothertown and Paris, and northerly "by the southern- 
most Great Grenesee Road," was formed into a new town 
called Augusta, and its first town meeting was to be held at 
the house of Timothy Pond, Jr. ; and the remaining part of 
AVhitestown "lying within the Oneida reservation, so called," 
v.'as annexed to Westmoreland. 

The Counties of Montgomery, Herkimer, Oneida, and that 
part of Chenango formerly a part of Herkimer, were formed 
into a Congressional District. 

By an act passed March 15, 1799, the town of Mexico, 
Oneida County, was divided, and a new town called Camden 
formed from its territory ; and the first town meeting in the 
latter was held at the house of Samuel Royce ; and "all that 
part of Township No. 2 in Scriba's Patent lying east of 
Fish Creek," was annexed to the town of Rome. 

By an act passed March 14, 1800, the town of Mexico was 
again divided, and the town of Redfield formed. 



I.] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. ] 1 

Upon the revision of the laws of this State in 1801. an act 
was passed on the third of April in tliat year, fixing and re- 
asserting the boundaries of the several counties. By this 
act the boundaries of Oneida were as follows, viz. : — "All 
that part of this State bounded easterly by the County of 
Herkimer, northerly by the County of Clinton and by the 
northern bounds of this State, from the most westerly corner 
of the County of Clinton to a place in Lake Ontario, where 
the said northern bounds shall be intersected by the new 
pre-emption line aforesaid," (a line from Lake Ontario to 
Seneca Lake,) "continued due north, westerly by the line 
last mentioned to the south bank of Lake Ontario, and south- 
erly by the- Counties of Cayuga, Onondaga, and Chenango, 
and the southern bounds of the patent granted to William 
Bayard and others, called the Free Masons' Patent." 

By the act passed the 7th of April, 1801, dividing the 
counties into towns, the following towns were described in 
the County of Oneida, viz.: — Bridgwater, Deerfield, Tren- 
ton, Paris, Whitestown, Remsen, Floyd, Steuben, Western, 
Leyden, RomOj Camden, Redfield, Watertown, Champion, 
Lowville, Turin, Mexico, Westmoreland, and Augusta. 

By an act passed March 3, 1802, the County of St. Law- 
rence, with nearly its present limits, was formed from the 
territory of Oneida. 

By an act passed Feb. 17, 1802, the towns of Verona and 
Vernon were formed of parts of the towns of Westmoreland 
and Augusta ; and the first town meeting in the former was 
held at the house of Martin Langdon, and in Vernon at 
the house of David Tuttle. 

By an act passed April 1, 1802, the towns of Leyden, 
Watertown, and Mexico, in Oneida County, were divided, 
and the towns of Brownville, Adams, and Rutland, formed 
from their territory. 



12 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CIIAP. 

By an act passed Feb. 22, 1803, the towns of Mexico. 
Turin, Lowville, and Champion, in Oneida County, were 
divided, and the new towns of EUisburgh, Harrisburgh, and 
Martinsburgh formed from their territory. And by an act 
passed the same day, all such parts of the patent of land 
granted to Baron Steuben as were previously included within 
the tOAvns of Trenton and Bemsen, were annexed to the 
town of Steuben. 

By an act passed March 24, 1804, the towns of Adams 
and Mexico, Oneida County, were divided, and the towns of 
Harrison, Malta, and Williamstown formed therefrom. 

By an act passed Feb. 16, 1805, the town of Camden was 
divided, and the town of Florence erected from its territory, 
and the first town meeting in the latter was to be held at the 
house of John Spiniiing. 

By an act passed March 28, 1805, the County of Oneida 
was divided, and the Counties of Jefferson and Lewis erected 
from the northern portion of its territory ; and also forming 
the town of Boonvillc from the part of the town of Leydeu 
remaining in the County of Oneida. First town meeting in 
Boonville to be held at the house of Joseph Denning. 

By this act Oneida was entitled to three, and Jefferson 
and Lewis each to one Member of Assembly. The boundary 
line then established between Oneida, Jefferson, and Lewis, 
was substantially the same as that existing at present. 

An act was passed March 21, 1806, dividing the town of 
Mexico, Oneida County, and forming the town of Frederielis- 
burgh from a part of its territory. 

By an act passed Feb. 20, 1807, the town of Williamstown 
was divided, and the town of Bichland formed, and a part 
added to the town of Bedfield. And by an act passed April 
3, in the same year, the town of Camden was divided, and the 
town of Orange formed from a portion of its territory. And 



I.] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 13 

by an act passed April 6, 1808, the name of Orange was 
changed to Bengal. 

By an act passed April 8, 1808, the town of Williamstowu 
was again divided, and the town of Constantia erected. 

By an act passed April 3, 1811, the town of Western was 
divided, and the town of Lee formed from a portion of its 
territory ; and the first town meeting in the latter was to be 
held at the house of Samuel Darling. And by an act passed 
April 5, 1811, the town of Fredericksburgh, Oneida County^ 
was divided, and the town of Scriba formed from its terri- 
tory, and the remainder of the former to remain a town with 
its name changed to Volney ; and by a law passed in 1816, 
the name of Bengal was changed to Vienna. 

By an act passed March 1, 1816, the towns of Constantia, 
^Mexico, New Haven, Redfield, Richland, Scriba, Volney, 
Williamstown, (Oneida Co.,) and the town of Hannibal, (Onon- 
daga Co.,) were formed into a new county, named Oswego. 

By an act passed April 7, 1817, the town of Whitestown 
was divided, and the town of Utica formed ; and by a law 
passed April 12, 1823, the town of Annsville was formed 
from the towns of Lee, Florence, Camden, and Vienna ; and 
by a law passed April 12, 1827, the town of New Hartford 
was formed from a part of Whitestown ; and by a law passed 
April 13, 1827, the town of Kirkland was formed from a part 
of Paris. By a law passed Feb. 21, 1829, the town of Mar- 
>hall was formed from a part of the town of Kirkland ; and 
by a law passed March 30, 1832, the town of Marcy was 
formed from a part of Deerfield ; and by a law passed May 
12, 1846, the town of Ava was formed from a part of Boon- 
ville. This completes the history of the formation of the 
twenty-seven towns constituting the County of Oneida, giving 
her fair proportions, which should never be marred by divi- 
sions, or detractions from her territory. 



14 ANXAL.'i OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 



CHAPTER II 



ONEIDA COUNTY 



Is centrally located in the State of New York, and is bound- 
ed north by Lewis County and a small corner of Oswego, 
cast by Herkimer County, south by Otsego and Madison 
Counties, and west by Madison and Oswego Counties. 

It is situated between 42 deg. 4G min. and 43 deg. 33 min 
north latitude, and 1 deg. 05 min. and 1 deg. 55 min. west 
longitude from the city of New York. 

The surface of the county is peculiar. Although tin; 
Erie Canal passes quite through it, on the long level whicli 
extends from Frankfort to Syracuse, and although the county 
lies lower than the country west from that city, still the 
water flows from the county east, west, north, and south. 
The Mohawk River is formed within its bounds. The East 
and AYcst Branches, the Lansing Kill, and a number of 
smaller tributaries, rush together in the town of Western 
from the east, south, and north, and form the embryo river. 
Its course from Western to Rome is south-westei^Iy, where 
it takes a south-easterly course until it leaves the county 
below Utica. After it leaves Rome, it receives from the 
north the Nine Mile Creek and several smaller streams, an<i 
from the south the Oi'iskany, Sauquoit, and smaller streams 
The West Canada Creek, which for some distance washers 
the eastern boundary of the county, receives the united 
waters of the Steuben and Cincinnatus Creeks, just below 
Trenton Falls, and soon after it passes through a part of 



11.] ONEIDA COUKTV. 15 

Herkimer County, and empties into the Mohawk at Herkimer 
village. It is a fair presumption, that seven-eighths of the 
water of the Mohawk at this place, is drained from the 
springs and surface of Oneida County. 

Wood Creek and Fish Creek, with their tributaries, drain 
four entire towns, and portions of five others, in the north- 
"svest section of the county, and after uniting their waters for 
a short distance, empty into the east end of the Oneida 
Lake. The Oneida Creek, which forms the western boun- 
dary of the county, oj^posite the towns of Vernon and Verona, 
receives the Skeuandoa Creek, a stream that rises in the 
western part of Augusta, runs south a short distance, then 
east, and shortly takes a northerly and north-westerly course, 
passing through Vernon until it falls into the former stream 
near the north-west corner of Vernon, and south-west corner 
of Verona. 

The town of Sangerfield, in the south-west corner of the 
county, although one part is watered by the east branch oi 
the Oriskany, sends a small stream into the Chenango River, 
one of the branches of the Susquehanna. — and the town 
(.>f Bridgwater, in the south-east corner of the county, is 
drained by a head-water of the Unadilla, another tributarj- 
of the Susquehanna. 

The towns of Remsen and Boonville, in the north-east 

section of the county, contain not only head-waters of the 

Mohawk, but the Black River, which empties into Lake 

■ Ontario at Sacketts Harbor, passes through these towns, 

receiving numerous small streams in its passage. 

It will, therefore, be seen that the water from the north- 
west part of the county reaches the Atlantic by the Oneida 
Lake and River, the Oswego River, Lake Ontario, the 
River and Gulf of St. Lawrence ; while that in the north- 
cast part finds the same outlet by the Black River. Lake 



16 AN>fALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

Ontario, etc. The water in the south-west corner reaches the 
same ocean by the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers, and 
('hesapeake Bay ; while that in the south-east part finds the 
same egress by the Unadilla, — a head-water of the Susque- 
hanna. And this while the great central portion of the 
<'0unty discharges its waters into the Atlantic by the Mo- 
hawk and Hudson Rivers. 

frEOLOGY. — Few countics in the State present as great 
a variety of geological formations. 

The primary system is found in the noi'tli-east part of 
the county, bordering on the Black River. At this point, 
granite , Black River and Trenton limestone are its compo- 
nents. Bordering on these are the Utica slate and the Hud- 
son River group of shales and sand-stone. The Oneida slate, 
seen in almost every section of the county, next follows ; and 
this is succeeded by the Clinton and Lockport groups of 
limestone, rich in fossils, and the Onondaga salt group, here 
mainly made up of red and green shales. The Oriskany 
sand-stone is found in many of the valleys of those streams 
in the south part of the county which run in a northerly 
direction. The Marcellus shales appear at a few isolated 
points in quite the south part of the count}"- ; as also is the 
Hamilton group of limestone. 

Miticrah. — The county is rich in iron ore. It is inex- 
haustible in the towns of Kirkland, Westmoreland, and 
Verona. Peat and marl are found in many localities. The ' 
principal mineral springs are noticed in the towns in which 
they are situated. 

Elections. — The first town meeting held in the district 
(town) of Whitestown, was convened at the house of Capt. 
Daniel C. "White, in said district, on Tuesday, the 7th day of 



n.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 17 

April, 1789, "agreeable to warning," and '-it being more 
convenient," the meeting adjourned to the barn of Hugh 
White, Esq., at which time and place they '-proceeded as fol' 
loweth: 1st chose Col. Jedediah Sanger, Supervisor; 2d chose 
Elijah Blodget, Town Clerk ; 3d chose Amos Wetmore, First 
Assessor ; 4th chose James Bronson, Second Assessor ; 5th 
chose Ephraim Blackmer, Third Assessor ; 6th chose Oliver 
Collins, Collector ; 7th chose Hugh White, Esq., and Capt. 
3Ioses Foot, Poor Masters; 8th chose Greorge Doolittle, 
Jedediah Sanger, and Ephraim Blackmer, Commissioners 
of Highways ; 9th chose Jedediah Phelps, Joseph Sowle, 
Salmon Butler, Amos Kellogg, Nehemiah Jones, and Alex- 
ander Parkman, Constables ; 1 0th chose Maj. Gilbert Willett, 
Amos Ives, Ebenezer Butler, Jr., Alexander Parkman, Jo- 
seph Jones, Joseph Jennings, Overseers of Roads; 11th 
chose Lemuel Levenworth, Rice Hawley, Lemuel Cook, Seth 
Ranney, Barnabas Pond, Fence Viewers; 12th chose Eben- 
ezer Butler, Jr., Daniel C. White, Pound Keepers; 13th 
voted to let swine run at large, 'yoaked and ringed;' 14th 
voted that the Supervisor appoint the place for holding 
the next annual town meeting. Then said meeting be dis- 
solved." 

The second town meeting in Whitestown was held at 
the barn of Capt. Needham Maynard, in said town, April 
6, 1790. "The following persons were elected: — Major 
William Colbrath, Supervisor ; Elijah Blodget, Town Clerk ; 
Joshua Morse, Capt. Daniel C. White, Lieut. Isaac Jones, 
Col. Jedediah Sanger, Rozel Fellows, Assessors; Oliver 
Collins, Collector ; Capt. Amos Wetmore, Capt. James 
Cassety, Overseers of Poor ; Capt. Moses Foot, James Dean, 
Esq., George Doolittle, Commissioners of Highways ; Samuel 
Ensign, Bill Smith, Rufus Blodget, Solomon Kellogg, Joseph 
Jones, Constables; Silas Phelps, Samuel Laird, Raphael 

2. 



18 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Porter, Samuel Wells, Samuel Winch, Ashbel Beach, Amok 
Miller, Wm. Satchel, Darias Sayles, Jedediah Phelps, Over- 
seers of Highways ; John Tillotson, John Barsley, George 
Langford, Aaron Kellogg, Fence Viewers ; Lemiiel Leven- 
worth, Barnabas Pond, Pound Keepers. 

" Voted to re-consider the whole votes that have been 
received as null and void, when the Inspectors adjourned 
the meeting till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock. Wednes- 
day morning at 10 o'clock, April 7, 1790, met according to 
adjournment. Chose, 1st, Jedediah Sanger, Supervisor ; 2d, 
Ashbel Beach, Town Clerk ; 3d, Joshua Morse, Capt. Dan- 
, iel C. White, Lieut. Isaac Jones, Ensign John Tillotson, 
and Ebenezer Wright, Assessors ; 4th, Oliver Collins, Col- 
lector ; Capt. Amos Wetmore and James Bronson, Overseers 
of Poor; James Dean, George Doolittle, John Tillotson, 
Commissioners of Highways; Samuel Ensign, Bill Smith, 
John BuUen, Hezekiah Kice, Joseph Jones, Nathaniel 
Townsend, Constables; Silas Phelps, Samuel Laird, John. 
Young, Joseph Farewell, Samuel Wells, Samuel Winch, 
Jason Parker, Ashbel Beach, William Clarey, Amok Miller, 
Seth Steel, William Satchel, Overseers of Highways ; John 
Barsley, Lemuel Levenworth, Barnabas Pond, Pound 
Keepers. 

'■'■Montgomery County, ss. : — This certifies that the free- 
holders, and other inhabitants of Whitestown, being met in 
said town for the purpose of choosing Town Officers, on 
Tuesday, the 6th day of April, 1790, did on said day collect 
fifty votes for Maj. William Colbrath, and thirty -four votes 
for Col. Jedediah Sanger, for Supervisor, and William Col- 
brath was declared to be Supervisor. Then proceeded to 
the election of other officers, but many people being deprived 
of the privilege of voting for Supervisor, etc., moved to have 
the proceedings of the day made null and void, which passed in 



11.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 19 

the affirmative. The meeting being then adjourned to Wed- 
nesday, the 7th inst., at 10 o'clock in the morning, at this 
place. Wednesday, 10 o'clock in the morning, met according 
to adjournment, and the poll list being opened and kept open 
till about five o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the poll 
list was closed, and upon canvassing the same, found that 
Jedediah Sanger was unanimously elected Supervisor, with 
the number of 1 19 votes, which choice was publicly declared 
in said meeting, and that he hath produced a certificate from 
Hugh White, Esq., that he has taken the oath of office. 

" Attest for Elijah Blod&et, Town Clerk. 

" Attest for Ashbel Beach, Town Clerk." 
In this " our day and generation" proceedings like these 
would be considered very singular. They are not given 
because they possess very much interest to the public, so far 
as the offices or candidates are concerned ; but they have 
been transcribed to show the S2nrit of tJic timcs^ and to show 
the manner in which the jjeoplc^ in the early settlement of 
this country, transacted their business in their town meet- 
ings. Some of the results of this double election are decid- 
edly, unique. The defeated candidate for Supervisor of the 
first day, was elected unanimously on the second ; but to 
place the matter beyond doubt, the two Town Clerks sign 
bis certificate of election. 

Most of the candidates, as well as voters, were natives of 
New England, and it was of old in the New England town 
meetings where the people learned that they possessed the 
rights and abilities of freemen. The student of history soon 
learns that the attempt to abridge the rights of the New 
Englanders when assembled in town meeting, was a promi- 
nent cause of the Revolution ; and also that those town 
nieetings were powerful means in gaining our independence. 
Most of the actors in that town meeting had fought for liberty 



20 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTV. [cHAP. 

in the Revolution, and we see with what tenacity they clung 
to their military titles. 

Many of those then elected to petty offices in the back- 
woods town of Whitestown, — a town, however,. then larger 
in territory than some of the kingdoms of Europe, — after- 
wards became men of distinction, and arose to some of the 
most honorable places under our Grovernment. Their history 
would fill a large volume. Messrs. Dean, White, Sanger, 
and Maynard, were Judges of the County; Mr. Colbrath 
was Sheriff of Herkimer and Oneida Counties; Messrs. 
(jollins and Doolittle were Grenerals in the Militia, and the 
first as such, served his country in the war of 1812 ; Messrs. 
Foot, Cassety, Isaac Jones, Joseph Jones, Wetmore, Leven- 
worth, Phelps, and others, were for many years Justices of 
the Peace ; Isaac Jones the first Supervisor of Westmore- 
land ; and several others became distinguished in their 
various avocations and positions in life. 

The first general election held in the town of Whitestown, 
was opened at the Cayuga Perry (Bridge), thence adjourned 
to Moorehouse's Tavern in Manlius, thence to Fort Stanwix, 
and closed at Whitesboro. 

In 1791, at the town meeting in Whitestown, Jedediah 
Sanger was elected Supervisor, Ashbel Beach Town Clerk, 
Ebenezer Butler (afterwards of Pompey) Collector, James 
Wadsworth of Geneseo, Trueworthy Cook of, Pompey, Jere- 
miah Gould of Salina, and several others, Overseers of 
Highways. 

Courts, etc. — The first Court of Record held within the 
present limits of the county, was a term of the Herkimer 
Common Pleas and General Sessions, at "the Meeting House 
in the town of Whitestown," on the third Tuesday in Jan., 
1794. Present — Henry Staring, Judge, and Jedediah San- 



II.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 21 

gcr and Amos Wetmore, Justices. In the list of Assistant 
Justices and Justices of the Peace found in the minutes of 
this term, are the following names of those within our present 
territory, viz. : — Hugh White, Judge Sanger, A. Wetmore, 
Alex. Parkman, Ephraim Blackmer, Moses Foot, Edw. 
Paine, Seth Phelps, David Ostrom, Needham Maynard," 
Elizur Moseley, Samuel Sizer, William Fanning, Ebenezer 
Wright, and Jedediah Phelps. Among the Constables 
named are Uriah Seymour, Simeon Pool, and Samuel En- 
sign, of Whitestown ; Jesse Curtiss, Nathan Marsh, Amos 
Dutton, Samuel Branch, John Finch, and Ezekiel Goodrich, 
of Paris; Joseph Jones of Westmoreland; and Samuel 
Dickinson, Edw. S. Salisbury, Jasper French, and Benjamin 
Gifford, of Steuben. Grand Jury — Wm. Stone, Foreman : 
Archibald Beach, Jared Chittenden, Waitstill Dickinson, 
Matthias Halbert, Nehemiah Pratt, Abijah Putnam, Na- 
thaniel Gilbert, Alexander Enos, Coonrod Edee, Debold 
Dedrick, Joseph Jennings, R. Mills, Matthew Hubbell, 
Benjamin Ballou, Nathan Seward, Thomas Jones, Alviu 
Wheelock, James McNutt, Benjamin Tisdalc, Justin Grif- 
fith, Duty Lapham. William Colbrath, Sheriff; Jonas Piatt, 
Clerk. Joseph Strong was admitted as an Attorney and 
Counsellor, and took the oaths of office. Eight men were 
convicted of assault and battery, and fined from sixteen 
shillings to three pounds each. Five civil causes were tried, 
two of which were in ejectment, viz.: — James Jackson r.i: 
dem. Wm. Cunningham, Jr., vs. Samuel Dexter, tenant, in 
which the defendant obtained a verdict; and James Jack- 
son ex dem: Jacob Folts vs. Wm. Dygert, Sen., tenant, in 
which the verdict was for the plaintiff". 

Mr. Tracy in his lectures states that this term of the 
Herkimer Common Pleas was held in Judge Sanger's barn, 
and in the preceding October. A half burnt record in the 



22 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAP. 

Herkimer County Clerk's Office shows that the above state- 
ment, as to time, is correct ; and as there was no meeting 
house at that time in the town of Whitestown other than the 
one in New Hartford (and that in quite an unfinished state), 
this, with other evidence obtained, is conclusive that the term 
was held in the New Hartford meeting house. The law 
authorizing the term jirovided that the Herkimer County 
Courts should be held alternlitely at Herkimer and Whites- 
town. New Hartford was then in Whitestown, and as Judge 
Sanger was never "found napping" when any thing for the 
benefit of his village was at stake, he exerted himself suc- 
cessfully with Judge Staring and a majority of the bench, 
and the court was appointed at New Hartford. This term, 
however, was the only one held in that village, for Whites- 
boro ever afterwards succeeded in getting it at that place. 
An anecdote of this first court is thus told by Mr. Tracy : 

" A gentleman who attended the court as a spectator, in- 
formed me that the day was one of those cold ' January days 
frequent in our climate,' and that in the afternoon, and 
when it was nearly night, in order to comfort themselves in 
tlieir by no means very well appointed court room, and to 
keep the blood at a temperature at which it would continue 
to circulate, some of the gentlemen of the bar had induced 
tlie SheriiF to procure, from a neighboring inn, a jug of 
spirits. This, it must be remembered, was before the inven- 
tion of temperance societies. Upon the jug's appearing in 
court, it was passed around the bar table, and each of the 
learned counsellors in his turn upraised the elegant vessel, 
and descanted into his mouth, by the simplest process 
imaginable, so much as he deemed a sufficient dose of the 
delicious fluid. While the operation was going on, the dig- 
nitaries of the bench, who were no doubt sufi'ering quite as 
much as their brethren, of the bar, had a little consultation, 



II.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 23 

when the first Judge announced to the audience that the 
(,'ourt saw no reason why they should continue to hold oi")cn 
any longer, and freeze to death, and desired the crier forth- 
with to adjourn the court. Before, however, this functionary 
could commence with a single ' Hear ye,' Colonel Colbrath 
jumped up, catching, as he rose, the jug from the lawyer who 
was complimenting its contents, and holding it up towards 
the bench, hastily ejaculated : ' Oh, no, no, no. Judge, — 
don't adjourn yet ; take a little gin, Judge ; that will keep 
you warm ; 'tant time to adjourn yet ;' and suiting the action 
to the word, he handed his honor the jug. It appeared there 
was force in the Sheriff's advice, for the order to adjourn 
was revoked, and the business went on." 

Like terms of the court were doubtless held in the town 
of Whitestown on the third Tuesday in January, 1795-6-7. 

The records in the Clerk's Office of Herkimer County 
were destroyed by fire in 1804, and it is impossible now to 
learn particulars of other terms of the courts affecting the 
inhabitants of Whitestown. From a scrap discovered in our 
{ Uerk's Office, it seems that at a term of the General Sessions 
held at the church in Herkimer on the third Tuesday in 
January, 1792, Hugh White, Jedediah Sanger, and Moses 
Foot, were fined one pound fourteen shillings each for non- 
i»*ttendance as Justices ; and John Allen, Lemuel Bradley, 
and Smith Miller, were fined one pound four shillings eacli 
for like default as petit jurors. 

Upon the organization of Oneida County in 1798, the 
following persons were commissioned to " keep the peace," 
viz. : — Judges — Jedediah Sanger, Hugh White, James Dean, 
David Ostrom, George Huntington. Assistant Justices — 
Amos Wetmore, Thomas Cassety, Garret Boon, Adrian Fr. 
Van der Kemp, Elizur Moseley, Henry McNeil, Peter Colt, 
Ncedham Maynard Justices of Peace — James S. Kip, 



1:4 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

James Steel, 3Iatthias Hurlburt, James Sheldon, JarecJ 
Chittenden, Joseph Jennings, Reuben Long, Ithamar Coe. 
Jesse Curtiss, Kirtland Griffin, Wm. Blount, James Kinney, 
Ephraim Waldo, Thomas Converse, Joseph Jones, Danie> 
Chapman, Ebenezer R. Hawley, Abram Camp, Joshua 
Hathaway, Jesse Pearce, Matthew Brown, Jr., Daniel W. 
Knight, Samuel Sizer, Ebenezer Weeks, Wm. Olney, Henry 
Wager, John Hall, Isaac Alden, Joseph Strickland, Samuel 
Eoyce, John W. Blooinfield, Benjamin Wright, Luke Fishcv. 
Jonathan Collins, John Storrs, Pascal C. I. De Angelis. 
Stephen Moulton, Abel French, Daniel J. Curtiss, Samuel 
How, Rozel Fellows. Rudolph Grillier, Medad Curtiss, John 
Townsend, Abiel Lindsley, Gr. Camp, Alexander Coventry. 
Joel Bristol. 

The first Circuit Court in this county was held on the 
second Tuesday of September, 1798, at "the School House 
near Fort Stanwis," by Hon. John Lansing, Jr.. Chief Jus- 
tice. The following persons composed the Jury upon the 
trial of the first civil cause, viz. : — Jotham Wardon, Ben- 
jamin Case, Allen Risley, Ithiel Hubbard, Caleb Smith, Jr., 
Phineas Kellogg, Andrew Warner, Comfort Lee, George 
Stewart, Enoch Higby, Elias Merrill, and Peter Sloan. 
There were but four other causes upon the calendar. Lhitil 
1802 the circuits were held at the same place, and subse- 
quently, alternately with Whitestown. Prior to 1818 but 
one term was held in a year. 

The first Court of Oyer and Terminer in this county was 
held at " the Scliool House near Fort Stanwix,"' on the 5tij 
day of June, 1798. Present — Hon. James Kent, Justice of 
Supreme Court; George Huntington, Judge of Common 
Pleas ; and Thomas Cassety and Elizur Morseley, Assistant 
Justices. The following persons were sworn as the Grand 
Jurv. viz. : — Ebenezer Wright. Foreman: Matthew Brown. 



II.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 2I» 

Jr., Jolm White, Andrew Clark, Hugh White, Jr., Aaron 
Roberts, Ezra Paine, Samuel Wells, Timothy Pond, Michael 
Frost, Jesse Woodruff, Ozias Marvin, John E. Howard. 
Stephen Eldridge, and Joshua Wills. Stephen Ford and 
Thomas Converse were fined $5 each for non-attendance. 
The Grand Jury found no bills of indictment, and but one 
criminal trial took place, which Avas that of Sylvia Wood 
for murder ; but the particulars of her conviction will be 
given in another place. 

At the next Oyer and Terminer, on the second Tuesday 
in September, 1798, the Grand Jury brought in but one bill. 
In that case the prisoner plead guilty to the charge of steal- 
ing a yoke of oxen, and was sentenced to the State's Prison 
for three years. No indictments were found, and no trials 
were had at the term of 1799. At the term for ISOQ theri^ 
was but one trial, and that was for trespassing upon Indian 
lands. The prisoner was Major Watson, "a subject of the 
King of Great Britain," and he was charged with occupying 
and trespassing upon certain lands " in the township of 
Oswegatchie (now Ogdensburgh), lying in said (bounty of 
Oneida," he claiming to hold them under title from the 
Oswegatchie Indians, contrary to the statute, etc. At the 
term for 1801 three trials took place: one for murder, in 
which the prisoner, George Peters, an Indian, was convicted ; 
one for forgery, in which the prisoner was convicted and 
sentenced to the State's Prison for life ; and one for riot, in 
which two defendants were convicted, and a fine of one hun- 
dred dollars imposed upon one, and ten dollars upon the 
other. 

The first term of the Oneida Common Pleas and General 
Sessions of the Peace, was held at the School House near 
Fort Stanwix, on the third Tuesday in May, 1798. Present 
— Hon. Jedediah Sanger, First Judge; George Huntington 



26 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

and David Ostrom, Judges. A rule was entered that all 
Attorneys and Counsellors who had been admitted as such 
to the Herkimer Common Pleas, be admitted to practice in 
this court upon taking the oaths of office, and Thomas 11. 
Gold, Joseph Kirkland, Arthur Breese, Erastus Clark, 
Joshua Hathaway, Joab Griswold, Nathan Williams, Francis 
A. Bloodgood, Jonas Piatt, Rufus Easton, and Medad Cur- 
tiss, were admitted accordingly. 

The following persons composed the Grand Jury, viz. : — 
Jjoan Dewey, of Whitestown, Foreman, Gershom Waldo, 
Johtt Barnard, Ebenezer Wright, Jr., Amos Noyce, Cyrus 
Fellows, of Rome ; Abraham Ogden, Levi Butterfield, of 
J'loyd ; Alpheus Wheelock, Jonathan Swan, Reuben Beck- 
with, of Western ; Stephen Reed, Jacob T. Smith, of Tren- 
ton ; Gurdon Burchard, Philo White, William Smith, of 
Whitestown ; Richard Whitney, Josiah Whitney, Stephen 
Bari'et, of Paris ; Shadrach Smith, William Fanning, Caleb 
Willis, of Deerfield ; Josiah Stillman, John Baxter, of 
Westmoreland. 

The following persons were summoned as petit jurors, 
viz.: — Matthew Brown, Reuben Merrill, John Hewson, 
Frederick Selleck, Abraham Handford, John Bristol, 
Stephen White, Asa Knap, William Walworth, Rufus 
JJarnes, of Rome ; Ephraim Robbins, Timothy Bronson, 
Josiah Woodruff, Stephen Cummings, of Floyd; Ezekiel 
Cleveland, Daniel Spinning, Luther Miller, Richard Salis- 
bury, David Hicks, John Hawkins, Ichabod Brown, Daniel 
Eames, of Western ; Isaac Chamberlain, Joseph Martin, 
Allen Pierce, Garret Becker, of Trenton ; Aaron Clark, 
Arnold Wells, Barnabas Brooks, Zebediah Tuttle, John 
Hobby, William Brown, of Whitestown ; Simon Hubbard, 
Abicl Simmons, Luther Richards, Elijah Dresser, Samuel 
Nickols, Zebediah Plank, of Paris ; Hazard Shearman, John 



ir] ONEIDA COUNTY. '27 

Weber, Zadok Warren, George Damewood, John Dame- 
wood, John Reeves, of Deerfield ; Alexander Dorchester, 
Nathaniel Townsend, Benjamin Blackman, Joshua Douglass, 
of Westmoreland. 

But one bill of indictment was found, and that for assault 
and battery, to which the defendant j^lead guilty, and was 
iined five dollars, which was ordered to be j^aid to prosecutor 
and witnesses. 

Messrs. Gold, Kirkland, Breese, Clark, Williams, and 
Piatt were appointed a committee to report a system of 
rules for the court, and at May term, 1799, they reported 
twenty-two rules, which were adopted. 

But five civil cases were upon the calendar, in all cf which 
judgments were taken by confession. 

The first civil cause tried in this court was tried at the 
September term, 1798. Hon. Hugh White took his seat 
upon the bench at the last-mentioned term, and Hon. James 
Dean took his seat in December term, 1799. The County 
Courts previous to May, 1802, were held at the "School 
House near Fort Stanwix." The jail at Whitestown having 
been completed, as appears by a Report of Sheriff Brodhead 
to the Court at December term, 1801. May term of 1802 
was held " at the School House near the jail in Whitestown."' 
Present — Jedediah Sanger, First Judge ; David Ostrom, 
James Dean, Hugh White, Thomas Hart, and Henry Coffeen, 
Judges ; and Amos Wetmore, Needham Maynard, and Jo- 
seph Jennings, Assistant Justices. During the year 1802 
this court was held at Whitestown, and subsequently alter- 
nately at Rome and Whitestown. The terms were held upon 
the third Tuesday in May, first Tuesday in September, and 
last Tuesday in December. 

At the September Sessions for 1803, the Grand Jury 
found bills of indictment against Hon. Thomas Hart, of 



28 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Paris, David Ostrom and Ncedham Maynard, of Whitestown. 
Nathan Sage, of Redfield, James Dean, of Westmoreland, 
and Henry Coff'een, of Watertown, Judges of Oneida County, 
for neglecting to attend that term. It is presumed this had 
the desired eifect, for their names generally appear in the 
minutes of succeeding terms, and nol. pross. were subse- 
quently entered to the indictments. 



JUDGES OF COMMON PLEAS AND COUNTY COTTRTS.. 

The following list of Judges appointed for this coimty 
f^ince its organization, was politely furnished by Hon. Chris- 
topher Morgan, Secretary of State. 

1798, March 22. Jedediah Sanger, of Whitestown, First 
Judge, Hugh White and David Ostrom, of Whitestown. 
James Dean, of Westmoreland, and Creorge Huntington, of 
Rome, Judges. 

1801, January 28. Silas Stone, of Lowville, Judge. 

1801, August 21. Messrs. Sanger, White, Dean, Ostrom. 
and Huntington, re-appointed, with Thomas Hart additional. 

1802, March 13. Nathan Sage and Henry Coffeeu, of 
Eedfield. 

1803, March 31. Needham Maynard. 

1804, April 3. Chauncey Gridley. 

1804, July 3. Messrs. Sanger, Dean, Ostrom, Hunting- 
ton, Sage, Coffeen, Maynard, and Grridley, re-appointed. 

1805, Feb. 15. Messrs. Sanger, Dean, Sage, Maynard, 
O.Strom, Coffeen, and Crridley, re-appointed ; and March 25, 
Samuel Dill ; and April 8, Apollos Cooper additional. 

1808. March 22. Messrs. Sanger, Dean, Gridley, Sagd, 



ll.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 29 

Dill, Cooper, re-appointed, and Joseph Jennings and Jarvis 
Pike additional. 

1810, March 5. Morris S. Miller, First Judge, Jedediah 
Sanger, Hem-y McNiel of Paris, Abram Camp of Whites- 
town, and Timothy W. Wood. 

1813, February 23. Moris S. Miller, James Dean, David 
Ostrom, Henry McNiel, George Brayton, Richard Sanger^ 
Jesse Curtiss, Gerrit G. Lansing, Benjamin Wright, John 
Storrs, Peter Pratt. 

1814, April 5. Messrs. Miller, Dean, Ostrom, McNiel, 
Curtiss, Lansing, Wright, Storrs, and Pratt,' re-appointed ; 
and Levi Carpenter, Jr., and Frederick Stanley, additional. 

1815, April 15. M. S. Miller, Joseph Jennings, Solomon 
Woleott, Prosper Rudd, Daniel Ashley, Peter Pratt, James 
S. Kip, Sherman Barnes, Thomas H. Hamilton, Asahel 
Curtiss, Charles Wylie, Joseph Grant. 

1818, April 24. Messrs. Miller, Wylie, Grant, and Hamil- 
ton, with Ezekiel Bacon additional. 

1821, March 21. Messrs. Miller, Grant, and Hamilton, 
with Truman Enos and Joshua Hathaway additional. 

1823, February 3. Messrs. Miller, Enos, Hathaway, and 
Grant, with Samuel Jones additional. 

1824, November 22. Samuel Beardsley, First Judge, in 
place of M. S. Miller, deceased. 

1825, March 9. Henry R. Storrs, in place of Samuel 
Beardsley, who declined the appointment. 

1826, April 5. James Dean (son of former Judge Dean), 
in place of Truman Enos, who resigned upon his election to 
the State Senate. 

1828, February 5. Messrs. Hathaway, Grant, and Jones, 
re-appointed. 

1830, January 15. Chester Hayden, First Judge, and 
Israel Stoddardv 



30 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAI'. 

1831, April 8. Reuben Tower, of Sangerfield, in place of 
James Dean, whose term had expired. 

1832, February 10. Nathan Kimball, of Augusta, in 
place of Reuben Tower, resigned. 

1833, February G. John P. Sherwood, of Vernon, and 
Arnon Comstock, of Western, in place of Messrs. Jones and 
Hathaway, whose terms had expired. 

1835, January 23. Chester Hayden, of Utica, First 
Judge, and Israel Stoddard re-appointed. 

1837, February 21. Nathan Kimball re-appointed. 

1838, February 2. Pomroy Jones, of Westmoreland, in 
place of J. P. Sherwood, resigned ; and March 9, Arnon 
Comstock re-appointed. 

1840, February 2. Fortune C. White, of Whitestown, 
First Judge, vice Ilayden ; and April 14, Seth B. Roberts, 
of Rome, vice Stoddard. 

1843, February 10. Chester Hayden and Amos Wood- 
worth, of Florence, vice Messrs. Kimball and Comstock, 
whose terms had expired, and Pomroy Jones re-appointed. 

1845, February 21. P. Sheldon Root, of Utica, First 
Judge, vice White; and April 14, Ebenezer Robbins, of 
Lee, vice Roberts. 

1846, May 12. Othniel S. Williams, of Kirkland, vice 
Hayden. 

1847, June. P. Sheldon Root elected County Judge. 
Upon the organization of Herkimer County in 1791, 

Henry Staring was appointed First Judge, and Michael 
Myers, Hugh White, and Abraham Hardenburgh, Judges 
and Justices of the Peace ; and Jedediah Sanger and Amos 
Wetmore, of Whitestown, Alexander Parkman and Ephraim 
Blackmer, of Westmoreland, and John Bank, Patrick Camp- 
bell, and William Veeder, Assistant Justices and Justices of 
the Peace. 



11,] 



ONEIDA COUNTY. 



31 



Votes for Governor in the several towns of Oneida County 
from 1801 to 1822 inclusive; also the votes for and 
against the Convention and Constitution of 1821-2, with 
the names of all the towns in the county since its organ- 
ization. 



Adams 

Augusta 

Boouville 

Bridgwater 

Erownville 

Bengal 

Camden 

Champion 

Constantia 

Deerfield 

EUisburgh 

Floyd 

Florence 

Fredericksburgh 

Harrisburgh 

Leyden , 

Lowville 

Lee 

Mexico 

Martinsburgh.... 

Paris 

Jlutland 



1801. 


1804. 


1807. 


1810. 


181 


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89 


41 














22 


175 


131 


87 


139 


176 


150 


200 


74 


12G 










11 


74 


15 


52 


11 


HO 


5 


130 


41 
26 


63 
65 


52 


67 


63 

46 


88 
25 


65 
37 


72 
43 


11 


36 


84 


65 


64 


88 


68 


110 


44 


12"J 


17 


29 


30 


61 






7 


19 


6 


23 


20 


41 


45 


55 


52 


41 


62 


55 


70 


65 


38 


34 


88 


22 


125 


17 


99 


28 


151 


55 










27 


25 


33 


29 


20 


22 













5 


5 


6 










33 


100 














14 


59 


74 


43 














28 


7 


140 


29 










89 


2G 


17 


8 


27 
64 


10 

1 


53 


33 


62 


61 


43 


73 


47 


612 


128 

85 


403 
49 


143 


412 


187 


465 


158 


500 



* Morgain Lvis also had 11 votes in Bridgwater. 
•)■ Daniel D. TomUins also had 31 votes in Mexico. 



32 



ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. 



[CIIAF. 



Votes for Governor, &c., in Oneida County. 

(Continued from last page.) 



32 



Tlemsen 

Rcdfield 

Richland 

■Rome 

Steuben 

Seriba 

Sangerfield 

Turin 

Trenton 

Verona 

Vernon 

Volney 

Watertown 

'Westmoreland 

Whitestown 

Williamstown | 

Western... Igi] 12248 



1801. 1804. 



27 
149 

485 



C! M 



32 

50 

96 

74 

40 
60 
14 
68 
73 

105 
35 

128 



47 
47 
15 
93 

58 
63 

278 



1807. 1810 



16 

53 

37 

138 

89 

34 

31 

81 

102 



54 
144 

37 
295 



181.- 



66 45 



101 

322 

11 

1 



48 
161 

34 
255 



14 
3 

79 
82 
57 

133 

82 

53 

102 



93 
372 

48 
20 



15 
57 
71 
116 
45 
23 
42 

55 
91 
142 
5 

64 
161 

30 
210 



17 
2 

125 
76 

58 

C 

137 

103 
7G 

213 
26 

143 

364 

56 

15 



n] 



ONEIDA COUNTY. 



33 



Votes for Grovernor, &c., in Oneida County. 
(Continued from last page.) 



Augusta 

Boonville 

Bridgwater 

Bengal 

€&mden 

Constantia 

iJeerfield 

Floyd 

Florence , 

Lee 

Mexico 

New Haven 

'Orwell 

Paris 

Eemsen 

Kedfield 

llicliland 

Eome 

Steuben 

tScriba 

8angerfield — 

Trenton 

Utica 

Verona 

Vienna 

Vernon 

Volncy 

Y/estmoreland. 
Whitestown ... 
Williamstown . 
Western 



1816. 


1817. 


1820. 


1821. 


1822. 


181 


22 
















c 




c 










§ 




'I 


a 
o 


c 

o 




c 
o 


f2 


vi 

Qi 




o 

H 


fab 


a 
5 




o 
En 


5 




a 
o 


c 


CO 

O 




fcij 


s 




a; 




'3 




o 


.9 


o 
o 

o 


c 
fac 




re 


p 


rt 


tt 


yj 


M 


P 


i^ 


■^ 


Pm 


<; 




OJ 


73 


134 


105 


2 


66 


104 


183 


14 


69 


88 


221 




40 


62 


54 




24 


36 


54 


44 


59 


15 


90 




63 


81 


104 


1 


35 


86 


95 


102 


87 


65 


181 




30 


21 






















53 


97 


86 




89 


166 


74 


64 


47 


111 


253 


6 


5 


11 


17 




30 


25 


91 


3 


72 


10 






78 


48 


72 




33 


97 


103 


81 


95 


84 


210 





109 


27 


97 




72 


61 


162 


47 


140 


41 


176 




14 


19 


28 




16 


41 


40 


17 


31 


18 


59 




97 


35 


95 




123 


32 


136 


19 


126 


27 


185 




19 


21 


42 


1 


17 


64 














33 


31 


45 
24 




20 
54 


12 
15 


126 

68 


8 










186 


433 


340 


8 


129 


430 


272 


409 


252 


269 


621 


]4 


16 


9 


31 






31 


29 


9 


16 


23 


58 




38 




28 


3 


41 


9 














139 


115 


51 




66 


64 


391 












116 


108 


124 




96 


140 


354 


22 


222 


44 


412 




41 


54 


35 


3 


44 


51 


122 


3 


74 


4 


115 




15 


9 


15 




16 




108 












58 


125 


96 


2 


26 


142 


121 


97 


72 


89 


321 




83 


100 


95 


3 


41 


133 


122 


167 


108 


122 


221 












25 


122 


244 


64 


139 


90 


448 


^ 


104 


73 


101 




78 


95 


180 


50 


134 


83 


262 








75 




20 


149 


80 


71 


73 


58 


164 




80 


127 


106 




20 


196 


140 


151 


67 


164 


219 




15 


19 


2 


3 


61 


21 


147 


35 


108 


39 






65 


155 


154 




95 


135 


207 


104 


154 


109 


354 


r; 


140 


355 


293 


17 


103 


260 


359 


141 


294 


126 


600 


i 


43 


44 


38 




64 


32 


62 


26 


51 


12 






140 


14 


129 




134 


24 


241 


13 


197 


5 


263 





•3' 



34 



ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. 



[chap. 



Votes for Governor at each election since the adoption of 
the Constitution of 1821. 



1824. 1826. 1828. 1830. 1832. 1834. 1836 



Annsville ... 
Augusta .... 

Ava 

Boonville... 
Bridgwater. 

Camden 

Deerfield ' 

Florence 

Floyd 

Kirklaud 

Lee 

Marcy 

Marshall 

New Hartford 

Paris 

Remsen 

Pvomc 

Sangerfiold ... 

Steuben 

Trenton 

Utica 

Vernon 

Verona 

Vienna 

Western 

Westmoreland 
Whitestown . . . 



76 
196 

120 
113 

54 
149 

45 
154 

193 



116 
222 

92 
135 
161 



58 
188 

115 
93 

50 



204 132 
34! 43 



2871704 

471 52 
277|257 

91228 
116 49 
11725U 
150384 

52391 
178187 

80ll39 
310' 41 
250J2.10J 
2555161 



122 

160 



233 

26 
29 



145 
164 

126 
130 
183 
169 
44 
92 

92 



96 
243 

163 

127 
90 
291 
77 
183 
251 
323 



163 
51l|l65 
751 45 
235448 
63J199151 
1031 421127 



157:142 
225 247 

180188 
1121 132 
186'14G 
213 272 
42 71 
125206 
505 '2 15 
107j242 

1140 

.328' 188 
3 19 '20.- 
132| 77 
299'354 



75 150 
208 305 



29 

167 

167 

147 

49 

77 

171 

14 

117 

264 



124 

175 
230 
99 
217 
222 
383 
160 
192 
200 



12 

248 



263 217 



2611214 

74! 77 
1921434 



174 

194 

14.^ 

60 

97 

284 

113 

97 

219 

32 

317 

153 

353 



122 
246 
76 
160 
100 
236 
205 
244 



169 
470 
196 



201 
460 
343 
162j351 
166165 
33 '380 
199|253 
4091203 



235;i96|173|235 22l 
1141115 



3531229 
715'50l 
367 290 



50 346 
276'266 
3491292 



130139 
212|259 
323 470 
2771289 
2321358 
1131265 
151387 
2521281 
247342 



152 
323 
689 
331 
255 
110 
41 
301 
378 



153 
314 

247 
135 
171 
'24' 
113 
191 
267 
335 
1 

222 
191 
219 
72 
49 
236 
152 
255 
472 
309 
364 
252 
373 
243 
315 



99 133 
23l!236 



73 
101 



1721 19611 in 



16S 
71 



40 



159134 
223J138 
150il93 

741107 

e2[l62 
323 220|215 
135'286 88 
104|l51 27 
206|16l|l(-4 
344il63|248 
297ii462ui- 
1631 85| 71 
295'465I10{. 
222il?2|l41 
154^137 60 
3102l2l2!G 
776 46l|503 
3022.54:125 
26l!259|14.> 
121 2.33i 32 

47 357i 8 
286 217 17:} 
415 223|23ti 



In 1828, Solomon Soutliwick, the Anti-Masonic Candidate for Gov. 
ernor, received 136 votes in the county. In 1824, the votes of Steuben 
were rejected by tlie County Canvassers, on accoimt of an error in 
the date of returns (1823 instead of the right year), by a vote of 9 to 8. 



11.] 



ONEIDA COUNTY. 



Totes for Governor; &c., coutiuucd. / 



1838. 1840. 1 1842. 1844. 1846. 1848. 1850 



11159 

S! 

4218 
5!l46 

Gjiei 

7 226 
11 
159 
258 
317 
140 
UK) 
162 
237 
6 



227 

121 

176 

104 

41 

50 

241 

97 

66 

130 

331 

197 

163 

464 359 



191 



236 
116 
243 
603 
318 
227 



241273 

251358 
2624'} 
27I244 



190 
141 
237 
658 
309 
256 
86 
52 
237 
354 



460 
154 
173 
271 
127 
219 
264 
453 
211 
235 
231 
244 
94 
578 
281 
138 
311 
785 
270 
485 
334 



177 
204 

333 

158 
279 
167 
82 
86 
323 
149 
126 
210 
391 
315 
214 
519 
248 
195 
348 
877 
326 
391 
152 
4751104 
315305 
3221424 



189 
229 

290 
149 
169 
183 
135 
172 
264 
392 
157 
176 
203 
225 
91 
5G9 
268 
124 
268 
776 
254 
415 
339 
373 
280 
265 



P -z 



126 
176 

268 
120 
165 
102 

47 

56 
290 
136 

67 
139 
307 
229 
140 
410 
192 
117 
277 
7961852 
264301 
351494 

99 371 

57 354 
268296 
359:325 



210 
233 

336 
164 
210 
235 
179 
193 
266 
432 
212 
221 
240 
264 
120 
577 
235 
140 
293 



173 
173 

305 
131 
209 
142 
86 
80 
311 
188 
104 
199 
399 
316 
202 
516 
222 
190 
337 
1034 
304 
451 
108 
116 
262 
404 



194! 

169 

34 

145 

129 



59135 
54 166 
45 49 
16 151 



220 
269 
116 
183 



33 169 
66228 
31 63 
35382 
7:210 
37 53 
202 



.530 
240 
33 
292 
37 
213 
183 



1.52 
166 

94 
255 
103 
190 
108 
117 

58 
292 
158 

66 
133 
342 
272 
156 
433 
183 
142 
292 
1087 
244 
417 

88 
266 
23 
382 



143 

152 

15 

96 

120 

56 

99 

30 

125 

125 

210 

57 

54 

166 

112 

32 

410 

169 

58! 

64 

4491 

1131 

200 

46 

281 

137 

149 



1848. 


— > 


185 

^ -A. 


1 

's 


< 






s 

a. 

m 


ca 

U 


W 


175 


72 


245 


177 


102 


221 


71 


72 


98 


231 


20G 


349 


1-30 


39 


152 


183 


251 


292 


99 


193 


256 


GO 


195 


298 


57 


46 


191 


283 


180 


2761 


163 


178 


368 


62 


100 


174 


138 


170 


167 


345 


87 


237 


299 


241 


272 


158 


116 


132 


479 


198 


677 


189 


111 


271 


124 


94 


141 


271 


256 


271 


1034 


703 


1201 


243 


143 


270 


420 


200 


436 


119 


315 


419 


67 


72 


325 


210 


207 


301 


372 


212 


290 



165 
195 

88 
324 
115 
249 
101 

86 

71 
268 
222 

73 
194 
340 
385 
196 
560 
17b 
141 
344 
1051) 
295 
517 
173 
137 
291 
465 



NOTS ■ 



-The a'^mbera at the commeccement of the lines Indicate tiie tovrns as 
numbered oq the preceding \tv>.'j,t. 



36 



ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

County at various periods. 



Population of Oneida 
1800. 



Annsville - - 
Augusta - - 
Ava - - - 
Eoonville - 
Bridgwater - 
Bengal - - 
Camden - - 
Conntantia - 
(Jhampion 
Deerfield 
Florence - - 
Floyd - - 
Kirldand - - 
Lowville 
Ley den - - 
Lee - - - 
Marcy - - - 
jNIarshall 
Mexico - - 
New Hartford 
Paris - - - 
Ilenisen - - 
Rome - - - 
Eedfield - - 
Kichland - - 
Hangerfield - 
tSteuben - - 
.Seriba - - 
Trenton - - 
Turin - - 
TItica - - - 
Vernon - - ■ 
Verona - - 
Vienna - - 
Westmoreland 
Western - - • 
Whitestown - 
Williamstown ■ 
Watertown - 



1598 

1061 

384 

143 
1048 

767 

300 
6:2- 

240 

4721 
224 

1497 
107 

1143 
552 

624 
440 



1542 
1493 
4212 

119 



1810 



2004 

39o 
1170 

454 
1132 

153 

1232 
396 
970 



845 

5418 
489 

2003 
362 
947 

1324 

1105 
328 

1548 



1519 
1014 

1135 

2416 

4912 

562 



1820 



2771 

1294 
1533 

1772 



2346 

640 

1498 



2186 



6707 

912 

3569 



2011 
1461 

2617 

2972 
2707 
2447 
1307 
2791 
2237 
5219 



1830 



22837 33792 50997 71326 



1481 
3058 

2746 
1608 

1945 



964 
1699 
2505 



2514 

1908 

3599 
2765 
1400 
4360 



2272 
2094 

3221 

8323^ 
3045 
3739 
1766 
3303 
2419 
4410 



1840. 



1765 
2175 

5519 
1418 

2331 



4182 3120 



1259 
1742 
2984 



2936 
1799 
2251 

3819 
2844 
1638 
5680 



1850. 



2688 
2271 
1027 
3309 
1308 

2820 



2287 
2587' 
1419 
3421 



3025 
1857 
2115 

4847 
4283 
2384 
7920 



2251 2371 
1993 1754 



3178 

12782 
3043 
4504 
2530 
3105 
3488 
5156 



3540 

17556 
3089 
5587 
3436 
3292 
2524 
5820 



85300 99543 



IL] ONEIDA COUNTY. 37 

MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY, WITH THE YEAR OF THEIR ELECTION. 

1 798. Henry McNiel, David Ostrom, Abel French. 

1799. David Ostrom, John Hall, Nathan Smith. 

1800. David Ostrom, Abel French, Jesse Curtiss. 

1801. David Ostrom, Joel Bristol, Abel French. 

^802. James Dean, Senior, Abel French, John Lay, 
Aaron Morse. 

1803. David Ostrom, Joseph Kirklaud, David Coffeen, 
Abraham Van Eps. 

1804. George Brayton, Joseph Jennings, Joseph Kirkland. 
A tie vote between Benjamin Wright and Walter Martin. 

1805. George Brayton, Joseph Jennings, Thomas Hart. 

1806. George Brayton, Charles Z. Piatt, Uri Doolittle. 

1807. Benjamin Wright, Henry McNiel, Thomas E. 
Gold. 

1808. Benjamin Wright, David Ostrom, James Dean, 
Senior, John Storrs, Joel Bristol. 

1809. David Ostrom, John Storrs, John Humaston, 
Samuel Chandler, Levi Carpenter, Jr. 

1810. George Huntington, Henry McNiel, John Storrs, 
Isaac Brayton, George Doolittle. 

1811. George Huutington, Joel Bristol, Erastus Clark, 
Isaac Brayton, John Storrs. 

1812. George Huntington, Josiah Bacon, John Lay, 
Erastus Clark, Nathan Townsend. 

1813. Isaac Brayton, Henry McNiel, Theodore Sill. 
Janiies Lynch, Laurens Hull. 

1814. John Storrs, Theodore Sill, John Lay, James 
Lynch, Rufus Pettibone. 

1815. James Lynch, Richard Sanger, Roderick Morrison, 
Isaac Brayton, Jesse Curtiss. 



38 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

1816. Henry Huntington, Martin Hawley. David Ambler, 
Wheeler Barnes, Newton Marsh. 

1817. Henry Huntington, Joseph Kirkland, Nathan Wil- 
liams, George Brayton, Theor Woodruff. 

1818. r]zekiel Bacon, George Huntington, Theor Wood- 
ruff, Luther Guiteau, Seuior. David P. Hoyt. 

1819. George Huntington, Henry McNiel, James Dean, 
Jr., Theophilus S. Morgan, John Storrs. 

1820. George Huntington, Joseph Kirkland, Alien Fraser. 
William Root, Josiah Bacon. 

1821. George Huntington, Greene C. Bronson, I.srael 
Stoddard, Samuel Chandler, Peter Pratt. (Jonas Piatt, 
Jlenry Huntington, Ezekiel Bacon, Nathan AVilliams, 
Samuel S. Breese, Delegates to Constitutional Convention.) 

1 822. Henry ^Vager, Thomas H. Hamilton, James Lynch, 
Uri Doolittle, Samuel Wetmore. 

1 823. Henry Wager, Joseph Allen, Joseph Grant, Apollos 
Cooper, John Rugcr. 

1824. Joseph Kirkland, Israel Stoddard, David Piersou, 
Samuel Woodworth, Broughton White. 

1825. Theodore Sill, Laurens Hull, Aaron Barnes, Israel 
Stoddard, Russell Clark. 

182(3. Theodore Sill, Winthrop H. Chandler, Benjamin P. 
Johnson, John Billings, John Parker. 

1827. Thomas E. Clark, Benjamin P. Johnson, Gardiner 
Avery, Eli Savage, Linus Parker. 

1828. Reuben Bacon, Fortune C. AVhite, Benjamin P. 
Johnson. Eli Savage, Reuben Tower. 

1829. p]li Savage, Arnon Comstock, Linus Parker, Ithai 
Thompson, Elisha Pettibone. 

1830. Arnon Comstock, David Moultou, Reuben Bettis, 
Riley Shepherd, John F. Trowbridge. 

1831. David Moulton, Daniel Twitehel, Lemuel Hough, 
Rutwr B. Miller, Nathaniel Fitch. 



J I.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 39 

1832. Icliabod C. Baker, Stpire Utley, David Wager, 
Levi Buckingham, Joliu Dewey. 

1833. Itliai Thompson, Hiram Shays, Israel S. Parker, 
Aaron Stafford, Pomroy Jones. 

1834. Amos "Woodworth, Merit Brooks, Dan P. Cadwell. 
David "Wager, Riley Shepherd. 

1835. Henry Graves, Jared C. Pettibone, John W. Hale, 
John Stryker, William Knight. 

1836. Andrew S. Pond, Lester N. Fowler, John I. Cook. 
Levi Buckingham. 

1837. Russell Fuller, Fortune C. White, James S. T. 
Stranahan, Henry Hearsey. 

1838. Ward Hunt, Israel Stoddard, Jesse Armstrong, 
Amasa S. Newberry. 

1839. Charles A. Mann, John F. Trowbridge, Nelson 
Dawley, Anson Knibloe. 

1840. Nathaniel Odell, Luke Hitchcock, Calvin Dawley, 
Joseph Halleck. 

1841. Horatio Seymour, Dewitt C. Stephens, Ebenezcr 
Robbing, Ichabod C. Baker. 

1842. John H. Tower, Amos S. Fassett, David Murray, 
Dan P. Cadwell. 

1843. Horatio Seymour, James Douglass. Richard Empy, 
Justus Childs. 

1844. Horatio Seymour, Andrew Billings, Calvert Com- 
.-Ttock, Merit Brooks. 

1845. Benjamin F. Cooper, Chauncey C. Cook, Daniel G. 
Dorrance, Russell Fuller. 

1846. John Dean, Nathan Burchard, Abel E. Chandler, 
Isaac Curry. (Charles P. Kirkland, Hervey Braytou, Ed- 
ward Huntington, Julius Candee, Delegates to the Constitu- 
tional Convention.) 

1847. Luke Smith, Warren Converse, Bloomfield J. 
Beach, Henry Wager. 



40 



ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. 



[chap. 



1848. Oliver Prescott, Nehemiah N. Pierce, James M. 
Ehvood, Chauncey Stevens. 

1849. William J. Bacon, Ralph Mclntosli, Robert Frazier. 
Luther Leland. 

1850. Joseph Benedict, Lorenzo Rouse, Lewis Rider, 
George Bray ton. 

Michael Myers was the Member of Assembly from Her- 
kimer County in 1792-3, and Jedediah Sanger in the years 
1794-5, and in 1796-7 no one was returned. 



SHERIFFS AND COUNTY CLERKS, 

With the years of their ^rs< appointment, or commencement of teiiu 
of office under an election. Under the Constitution of 1777 Sherifi'^ 
were appointed annually, and under that of 1821 they were elected 
fur three years. Clerks held their office three years. 



1708. William Colbrath. 

1709. Elizur Moseley. 
1800. Charles C. Brodhead. 
1804. James S. Kip. 

1807. Benajah Merrill. 

1808. James S. Kip. 

1810. Benajah Merrill. 

1811. James S. Kip. 
1815. Apollos Cooper. 

1819. John B. Pease. 
1821. John E. Hinman. 

182.3. John E. Hinman (elected). 

1820. David Pierson 
1829. John E. Hinman. 
1832. Samuel M. Mott. 
1835. Erastus Willard. 
1838. Lyman Curtiss. 

1841. David Moulton 

1842, Dec. 24. Tlieodore S. Fax- 

ton, app'd by Gov. ScAvard. 

1843, Jan. 13. Israel S. Parker, 
appointed bv Gov. Bouck. 

1844. Palmer V. Kellogg, 
1847. Lester Barker. 
1850. John R. Jones. 



clerks: — 

1798. Jonas Piatt. 

1799. Fraucis A. Bloodgood. 

1802. Abram Camp. 

1803. Francis A. Bloodgood (\vhL»~> 

held the office ten years). 
1813. Abram Camp. 



1815. Francis A. Bloodgood 

(again clerk for 6 years-). 

1821. Eliasaph Dorchester. 
1823. Do. do. (elected). 

1826. John H. Ostroni. 

1829. John H. Ostrom. 

1832.- George Brown. 

1835. John D. Leland. 

1838. James Dean. 

1841. P. Sheldon Root. 



1844. Delos De Wolf. 
1847. Patrick Mahou. 
1850. Alexander Rao. 



11. J ONEIDA COUNTY. 41 

William Colbratli was Sheriff of Herkimer County from 
its organization until Oneida County was organized, in 1798. 
Jonas Piatt was Clerk of Herkimer County from its organ- 
ization until the organization of Oneida County, when he 
was appointed Clerk of the latter. Mr. Piatt resided in 
Whitestown, and this will doubtless account for a fact of 
considerable interest, and not very generally known ; i. c, 
that the Records of Deeds and Mortgages recorded in 
Herkimer County, from its organization (1791) to the organ- 
ization of Oneida County (1798), are in the Clerk's office of 
Oneida County, at Utica. These records fill eight large 
volumes, and are evidence of conveyances and incumbrances 
affecting lands in the present Counties of Herkimer, Oneida, 
Madison, Onondaga, etc., including sales of "soldiers' rights"' 
in the Military Tract, conveyances and powers of attorney 
from original patentees and their representatives, from In- 
dians, etc. It was a fortunate circumstance that they 
■were retained in this county, otherwise they would have 
been destroyed when the Clerk's Office of Herkimer County 
was burned in 1804. 



DISTRICT ATTORNEYS AYD SURROGATES, 
Witli the j^ear of their first appointment, or of commencement of 
term of office by election. 
DISTRICT attorneys: — surrogates: — 



1798. Thomas R. Gold. 

1801. Nathan Williams. 

1813. Joseph Kirkland. 

1816. Thomas H. Hubbard. 

1818. Nathan Williams. 

1821. Samuel Beardsley. 

1826. Hiram Dcnio. 

1834. Ichabod C . Baker. 

1841. Timothy Jenkins. 

1845. Calvert Comstock. 

1850. Roscoe Conkling, appt'd by 
Governor. 

1851. Samuel B. Garvin. 



1798. Arthur Breese. 
1808. Joshua Hathaway. 
1813. Erastus Clark. 
1815. Joshua Hathaway. 
1819. Greene C. Bronson. 
1821. Joshua Hathaway. 
1827. Henry A. Foster. 
1831. Alanson Bennett. 
1835. Henrv A. Foster. 
1837. John"Strvker. 
1847. Othniel S'. Williams. 



42 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 



CAPITAL TRIALS AND CONVICTIONS. 

Oneida Oyer and Terminer, held at the School House 
near Fort Stanwis, on the 5th day of June, 1798. Present 
— Hon. James Kent, Judge of the Supreme Court; Geo. 
Huntington, Judge of Oneida County; Thomas Cassety 
and Elizur Moseley, Assistant Justices. 

The People '] 



vs. 



alias f 



Sylvia Wood, alias C Thos. R. Gold, Esq., Assistant 
Sylvia Brown. J Attorney General. 

The prisoner had been indicted at the May term of tlic 
Oneida General Sessions, 1798. The charge was, that the 
prisoner had, on the 29th of April, 1798, murdered her hus- 
band, Major Wood, in the town of Augusta, by shooting him 
with a gun charged with shot. 

The husband died the next day ; but previous to his death, 
his deposition, with those of the wife and Letty Forbes, was 
taken by Thomas Cassety, Esq., a Justice of the Peace, by 
which it appears that the wife was intoxicated, (she and her 
Iiusband having attended an election on that day,) and while 
her husband was attempting to restrain her, she seized a gun 
and inflicted the fatal wound. Samuel Dill, Moses B. El- 
dridge, Silas Perkins, Reuben Reynolds, Job Babcock, 
Jeremiah Stevens, Walter Hyde, John Wright, Wm. Jaif, 
Philo Hizer, Rowland Potter, and Nahum Morse, were em- 
panelled as jury for the prisoner's trial. Thomas Cassety, 
Joseph Letty, Polly Forbes, and Timothy Pond, were 
witncs.ses for the people; and William Stutely and Ichabod 
Stafibrd for the prisoner. The jury found the prisoner 
guilty, and she was sentenced to be hung on the 29th of 
June (inst), between 10 A. M. and 2 P. M., and that her 



rr.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 43 

body be delivered to Dr. Amos G. Hull for dissection. 
Upon the morning of the day appointed for her eseeution, 
she was found dead in her cell in Herkimer jail, having 
hanged herself with the expectation that she could thus evade 
the whole of the sentence. In this, however, she Avas mis- 
taken, for science had its subject. 

Oneida Oyer and Terminer, at the School House near 
Fort Stanwix, on the 16th of June, 1801. Present — Hon. 
James Kent, Judge of the Supreme Court ; Hon. Jedediah 
Sanger and David Ostrom, CoiTnty Judges ; and Amos 
"Wetmore and Peter Colt, Esqrs., Assistant Justices. 

The People ^ 

fs. > Thos. E,. Gold, Esq., Assistant 

George Peters. ) Attorney General. 

The prisoner was a Montauk Indian, born at Montauk 
Point, Long Island. The remnant of his nation, with rem- 
nants of several other coast tribes of Indians, had formed a 
new tribe, significantly called the Brothertons, with which 
the prisoner resided. He was charged with killing his wife, 
Eunice Peters, at Rome, on the 24th day of February, 1800. 
An inquest was held by Coroner Bill Smith over the body 
of deceased, and the verdict was, that prisoner had murdered 
lier by striking her upon the head with a club, or wooden 
poker. The following persons composed the jury upon his 
ti'ial, viz. : — Lot Fuller, Grove Hulbert, Jotham Gaylord, 
Henry Crane, Loomis Kellogg, Ebenezer Markham, Peter 
I]astman, Nathaniel Montague, Nathan Hemingway, Truman 
Blaekman, Abel Wilcox, and Joseph Phelps, who rendered 
a verdict of guilty. Peters was sentenced to be hung on the 
28th day of August, 1801, and he was accordingly executed, 
under the direction of Sheriff Brodhead, upon the hill west 
of the villaiTe of Whitesboro. 



44 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

The Court made an order in this cause, directing seven 
dollars and fifty cents to be paid to Solomon Rich for 
" victualling Indian witnesses." 

Oneida Oj^cr and Terminer, held at the Court House in 
Rome, June 12th, 1817. Present — Hon. Smith Thompson, 
Judge of the Supreme Court; and Morris S. Miller, James 
S. Kip, and Joshua Hathaway, County Judges. 

The People J 

vs. \ Thomas H. Hubbard, Esq., District 

John Tuhi. ) Attorney. 

The indictment was found after a Coroner's Inquest had 
been held. The indictment charged that the prisoner mur- 
dered Joseph Tuhi on the 1st of May, 1817, in the town of 
Paris, by inflicting a deep wound upon his head with an axe. 
The two Tuhis were cousins, and had been to Clintou 
attending a militia muster, where, becoming intoxicated, 
they quarrelled about a small sum borrowed by one from 
the other, and John formed the design of killing Joseph. 
They belonged to the Brotherton tribe of Indians. Upon 
the trial the prisoner was convicted, and was sentenced to bo 
hung on the 25th day of July then next, between 10 A. M. 
and 2 P. M. He was accordingly executed at the time 
appointed, by Apollos Cooper, Esq., then Sheriff, assisted 
by John B. Pease, Under Sheriff', upon that part of the city 
of Utica now knoAvn as Corn Hill. 

Oneida Oyer and Terminer, held at Whitestown, Decenj- 
ber 19th and 20th, 1817. Present— Hon. Jonas Piatt, 
Judge of the Supreme Court; and M. S. Miller, Joseph 
Jennings, Solomon "Wolcott, and J. S. Kip, County Judges. 



n] ONEIDA COUNTV. 45 

The People, "1 

vs. I T. H. Hubbard and N. Wil- 

Jolin Harris, John Denny, y Hams for People. 

James O'Brien, David Linus, j Messrs. Gold & White for 
and Roswell T. Pratt. J prisoners. 

The prisoners were indicted at the same term in which 
they were tried, and were charged with having, on the 19th 
of August, 1817, set fire to the jail in Rome, by which 
means one Elisha Green was suifocated to death. The prison- 
ers (as well as Green) were at the time confined in jail for 
different offences, and in that way attempted to escape, but 
before they could effect their purpose they were compelled 
to cry for help, and when extricated were all nearly dead. 
Green took no part in setting fire to the building, and no 
intention to kill him was shown. The jury found the 
prisoners guilty of murder, and they were sentenced to be 
executed on the second Friday in February, 1818. The 
gallows was erected, coffins prepared, and a large concourse 
liad collected to witness the execution ; but on the previous 
evening a reprieve had arrived from the Governor, changing 
their punishment to imprisonment for life. Harris, Linus, 
and O'Brien were in jail under a sentence to the State's 
Prison for three years, for grand larceny, Denny under an 
indictment for an assault with intent, etc., and Pratt under 
an indictment for passing counterfeit money. Denny and 
Linus were Oneida Indians. 

Oneida Oyer and Terminer, held at the Academy in 
TItica, Oct. 7, 1824. Present— Hon. Samuel R. Betts, 
(circuit Judge ; Joseph Grant and Samuel Jones, County 
Judges. 

The People ^ 

vs. > Samuel Beardsley, District Attorney. 

Irad Morse. S 



46 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

The prisoner was indicted at the previous May term of 
the Greneral Sessions, for the murder of David Freeman, in 
the town of Rome, on the 9th of May, 1824, by shooting 
him with a gun charged with shot. Freeman lived two days 
after being shot. 

Deceased was a lad about seventeen years of age, and the 
two were hunting on Sunday, one carrying the gun and the 
other a bottle of whiskey, when a drunken quarrel arose, 
and Morse seized the gun, and going off a short distance, 
turned and fired, lodging the charge in the lungs of the boy. 
The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to 
be hung ou the 3d day of December then next. His punish- 
ment was, however, changed to imprisonment in the State's 
Prison for life, and it is understood that he died soon after 
at Auburn. 

Oneida Oyer and Terminer, held at the Academy in 
Utica, on the 11th of October, 1839. Present— Hon. Philo 
Gridley, Circuit Judge ; Nathan Kimball and Pomroy Jones. 
County Judges. 



The People i 

1!C '. 



VS. ^- Ichabod C. Baker, District 

Kobert M Her. ) Attorney.' 

The prisoner was indicted at the preceding June Sessions, 
for having murdered Darney Leddy, at the city of Utica, on 
the 29th day of April, 1839. Miller resided near Water 
street, in Utica, and deceased was proved to have been at his 
house on the evening of the murder, both being intoxicated. 
and having sent out for whiskey. The next morning Leddy 
was found, stripped of his clothing, insensible, and nearly 
motionless, lying upon the ground some thirty rods from Mil- 
ler's house, he having received a violent blow upon his head. 



ir.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 47 

1 

apparently given with a club. Upon search being made, a 
part of Leddy's clothes were found buried under mud and 
water in the cellar of Miller's house, and the cinders and 
ashes of other articles in the fire-place, and bloody stains 
upon the floor. These facts taken together, unexplained, 
warranted the jury in finding the prisoner guilty of murder. 
He was sentenced to be executed on the second day of De- 
cember then next. He was however respited by the Gov- 
ernor for a few days, when he was hung, in the jail at Whites- 
town, under the direction of Sheriff Curtiss. 

Oneida Circuit Court, held at the Academy in Utica, 
from the 4th to the 12th of October, 1841. Present— Hon. 
Philo Gridley, Circuit Judge. 

The People ^ 

vs. > Hon. "Willis Hall, Attorney 

Alexander McLeod. ) General. 

J. L. Wood, District Attorney, Niagara County, and T. 
Jenkins, District Attorney, Oneida County, for the People. 
Messrs. Gardner and Bradley, Attorneys, and Hon. Joshua 
A. Spencer, Counsel for prisoner. 

The prisoner was indicted at the February term of the 
Niagara County General Sessions, in the year 1841, for 
having, on the 30th day of December, 1837, crossed the 
Niagara River and burned the steamboat Caroline, then 
lying at the wharf at Schlosser, in the town and County of 
Niagara, in the State of New York, and at the same time 
murdering Amos Durfee. The facts of this case, as con- 
nected with the rebellion and disturbances in Canada in the 
year 1837, have become a part of the history of the country, 
and need not be repeated here. The venue in this cause 
had been changed from Niagara to Oneida by an order of 
the Supreme Court. Thirty-three witnesses were sworn oa 



48 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

the part of the People, and fourteen for the defense, besides 
a hirge number residing in Canada sworn before commission- 
ers, whose depositions were read upon the trial. The folloM^- 
ing persons composed the Jury, viz. : — Charles 0. Curtis, 
Edmund Allen, John Mott, Elijah Brush, Ira Byington, 
William Carpenter, Isaiah Thurber, Peter Sleight, Asher 
Allen, Seymour Carrier, Ezeck Allen, and Voluey Elliott. 
Verdict — Not guilty. 

Such was the anxiety on the part of the public to be 
present at the trial (numbers having come a great distance 
for that purpose), that the Sheriff had summoned a large 
force of constables and deputies for the purpose of preserving 
order, and by directions of the Judge the following order 
of entering and leaving the Court House was established, 
viz.: — 1. The Court. 2. Members of the bar and reporters. 
3. Prisoner, in charge of constables. 4. Jury. 5. "Wit- 
nesses. C. Citizens, until seats were filled, when the doors 
were to be closed. 7. Persons having business in Court. 
admitted upon special application to the Sheriff. 

Oneida Oyer and Terminer, held at the Academy in 
Utica, September 16, 1847. Present — Hon. Philo Gridley, 
Justice of the Supreme Court ; P. Sheldon Root, County 
Judge ; Julius C. Thom and Caleb Steves, Justices of the 
Sessions. 

The People ^ Calvert Comstock, District Attorney. 
vs. V J. A. Spencer and F. Kernan for 

Mary Runkle. ) prisoner. 

The prisoner was indicted in the Recorder's Court of 
Utica, at the August term, 1847, and was charged with 
having murdered her husband, John Runkle, in the city of 
Utica, on the '^Oth of August instant. 



IT,] ONEIDA COUNTY. 49 

The prisoner had seized deceased by the throat while he 
was asleep, in the middle of the night, with no light in the 
room, and with such a fiend-like grasp as to nearly sever his 
wind-pipe, and to cause immediate death. She was of a 
slight form, but, contrary to appearances, was proven to 
have possessed great muscular power. Common rumor had 
charged her — but with how much justice it is impossible to 
decide — with having destroyed two of her infant children by 
drowning them together in a wash-tub, — with murdering and 
robbing a pedlar, — with poisoning a son, who had arrived at 
manhood, and to whom she and her husband had conveyed 
some property to prevent its being taken by creditors, — 
and with many less heinous offenses. These are now, how- 
ever, beyond the reach of human investigation and legal 
tribunals. After committing the crime, and having washed 
the body of deceased, put clean linen upon the body, and 
hidden that which was soiled with blood, and washed the 
blood from the floor, in the night in question, she called in 
several of her neighbors, stating that her husband had died 
in a fit ! "While the deed was being perpetrated, the unna- 
tural monster, upon the pretest that her husband had been 
seized with a fit, called their daughter, about thirteen years 
of age, to her aid, directing her to hold his limbs in such a 
manner that he could make little or no resistance. 

After a patient investigation, the jury found the prisoner 
guilty of murder, and she was sentenced to be hung on the 
9th of November, 1847, between 10 A. M. and 2 P. M. She 
was accordingly executed, within the jail at Whitesbovo. 
under the direction of Sheriff Barker, having made no 
revelations as to the crime for which she was convicted, nor 
relating to her previous life. ^ 

Other trifils for murder have taken place in this county, 

4 



50 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CIIAP. 

but tliey have resulted in verdicts of acquittal, or in convic- 
tions for the different grades of manslaughter, punishable by 
imprisonment in the State's Prison. 



COUNTV ORGANIZATIONS. 

The Oneida Baptist Association was organized September 
27th, 1820. The churches of this denomination within the 
county had, for a few of the first years of the present cen- 
tury, belonged to the Otsego Association, and subsequently 
for a few years previous to the formation of this Association, 
to the Madison Association. 

It is somewhat difficult at the present time, from the 
annual minutes of this body, to give the increase of the 
denomination in the county, as at its formation quite a num- 
ber of churches from Madison County organized with it; 
still it can be approached with tolerable accuracy. 

In 1823, there were fifteen churches in the county, (beside 
Boonville, which has ever belonged to the Black River 
Association,) seven ordained ministers, and 1074 members. 
On the same territory in 1850, there were twenty-six 
churches, twenty-seven ordained ministers, (two of whom 
are missionaries in the East Indies.) and 2.529 members. 

This body has no ecclesiastical powcr-^ whatever. It is 
only advisory. 

The Presbytery of Oneida was organized by an act of the 
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States, at their meeting in the month of May, 1802. Its 
territorial limits included all of the State west of the east 
Fines of Herkimer and Otsego Counties. Its original mem- 
ber-s were Rev. Messrs. Jedediah Chapman. John Lindsley. 



II.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 51 

Bcthucl Dodd, Samuel F. Snowden, Isaac Lewis, 'and 
Peter Fish. The churches which were connected with it 
soon after its organization were, in Oneida County, those 
of Whitcsboro, Utica, New Hartford, and Trenton ; in Ot- 
sego County, those of Cooperstowa, Cherry Valley, and 
Springfield ; in Herkimer County, that of Little Falls ; in 
Cayuga County, those of Washington, Romulus, Ovid, and 
Ulysses ; in Steuben County, that of Bath ; in Tioga, that 
at Painted Post ; in Ontario County, those of Geneva, Pal- 
myra, Lyons, Sodus, and Caledonia. Many of these coun- 
ties have had their lines so altered by divisions, thaj; these 
churches do not now belong to the counties they then did. 
Subsequently, the limits of the Oneida Presbytery nar- 
rowed down by the formation of other Presbyteries, so that 
it was confined principally to Oneida and Herkimer Coun- 
ties. The first meeting was held at Whitesboro, September 
7th, 1802. 

la January, 1843, it consisted of thirty-one ministers, 
and about thirty-five churches. At thut time it was divided 
by the Synod of Utica, the new body taking the name of 
the Presbytery of Utica. In consequence of some dissatis- 
faction, the two bodies were merged in the Presbytery of 
Utica at the next meeting of the Synod. The Presbytery of 
Utica, at the present time, consists of thirty -six ministers, 
and about thirty churches. 

The Synod of Utica was organized at Utica, September 
15th, 1829, by order of the General Assembly of the Pres- 
byterian Church. When organized, it was composed of the 
Presbyteries of Ogdensburg, Watertown, Oswego, Oneida, 
and Otsego. At this time it consists of the Watertown, 
Oswego, St. Lawrence, Utica, and Otsego Presbyteries. Its 
territory comprises tho Counties of Herkimer, Otsego, 
Oneida, Lewis, Oswego, Jefierson, and St. Lawrence. 



52 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

In the summer of 1850, the " Old School" branch of the 
denomination organized a new body, by the name of the 
Presbytery of Mohawk. It is annexed to the Old School 
General Asssembly of the United States. 

The Episcopal Methodists have an Oneida Conference ; 
but it does not seem to be a county organization, for it com- 
prises much territory out of the count;/, while the Black 
River Conference embraces nearly or quite the northern half 
of Oneida. 

The Omida County Temperance Society, organized some 
years since, has performed well its part. It holds its annual 
meetings in the winter, and latterly it has had semi-annual 
meetings. 

Oneida Connty Agricultural Society. — This Society 
holds a prominent place among the public institutions of the 
county. It was organized in 1841, and the first annual 
exhibition held in the autumn cf that year, since which it 
has progressed steadily in usefulness and importance, until 
it now ranks among the best institutions of the kind in the 
Union. 

Ten exhibitions have been held under the direction of 
this Society in as many successive years, each one of which 
has exceeded its predecessor in the amount of receipts, and 
the number of farmers and others in attendance. The 
premiums, which were at first confined chiefly to farm stock 
and products, have been extended so as to embrace most 
articles of household and domestic manufacture, and a large 
number of mechanical articles. Its funds for membership 
have steadily increased, and have for a few years past been 
augmented by making a small charge for admission to the 
show of domesti« and fancy article.-, until they amounted — 



II.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 53 

including the State appropriation of $255 — in 1849 to 
about $1,000. In 1850 a new plan was adopted, the entire^ 
grounds (ten acres) for the exhibition enclosed with a high 
fence, at the expense of the citizens of Rome, and a charge 
for admission made to all who were not members of the 
Society. This arrangement brought into the Treasury about 
$ 1,500, a balance of some $500 above expenses for the same 
year. The Society has now a balance in the treasury amount- 
ing to near $1,000. 

Many of the farmers and other citizens of the county have 
taken a deep interest in the success and management of this 
Society. In this brief notice it is impossible to do more 
than present the names of the Presidents for each year, and 
a complete list of the oflicers elected for the year 1851. 
President in 1841-2 — Pomroy Jones. 

" 1843-4 — Benj. P. Johnson. 

'• 1845— Elon Comstock. 

" 184C — Dolphus Skinner. 

" 1847-8— Ira S. Hitchcock. 

" 1849— Henry Rhodes. 

" 1850 — Benj. N. Huntington. 

" 1851— Pliiiient Mattoon. 

Vice Presidents — Franklin A. Spencer, Ephraim Storrs. 
Ejxcutive Committee — Calvin Bishop, John Butterfield, 
Jonathan Talcott, Horace Dunbar, Henry Rhodes, Amasa 
S. Newben-y, Oliver R. Babeock, Horace H. Eastman, 
Heory B. Bartlett, Horatio N. Carey. 
Treasurer — Roland S. Doty. 
Seeretary — Levi T. Marshall. 

The exhibitions of the Society have never been held two 
successive years in the same town, the opinion having pre- 
vailed that greater good could be accomplished by holding 
them in different parts of the county in alternate years. So 
large has been the attendance in the last two years, that it 
seems almost indispensable now to confine the show to a few 
of the larger towns, where only the great numbers who 



54 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr. 

attend can procure accomodations. Judging from the im- 
provements already visible in the agriculture of the county, 
and the present flourishing condition of the society, it seems 
safe to predict for it a long and useful career. 

Political. — The two great and earliest political parties in 
the United States had formed before the organization of 
Oneida County. The Democratic, with Jefferson at its 
head, and the Federal, with Hamilton as its leader. After 
the formation of the county in 1798, it was found to contain 
a Federal majority. Subsequent to the organization of St. 
Lawrence County in 1802, the Democratic party for two or 
three years was in the ascendant. In 1805 the Counties of 
Jefferson and Lew^is were taken from Oneida, which left it 
vvith a Federal majority of from twelve to fifteen hundred. 
This was a powerful majority, when it is recollected that at 
the time scarcely one half of the citizens were voters, as the 
old Constitution of the State contained that most aristocratic 
and odious provision, requiring a freehold qualification of 
$250 to entitle the citizen to the privilege of the elective 
franchise. In the v/ar of 1812 the Federal party took strong 
ground, not only against the administration of Mr. Madison, 
but some of its niovesients were so anti-national, that tliey 
bordered on treason. In 1814 the Hartford Convention, 
composed of delegates from the New England States, held 
its secret session. At the time it was strongly suspected of 
hatcliing treason against the United States, and of giving aid 
and comfort to the enemy. The peace of 1815, however, 
entirely deprived the opposition of power for evil, if evil 
was actually intended. The party contrived to keep up its 
organization for three or four years, when it was found that 
the Hartford Convention was a mill-stone, sinking it too low 
for any reasonable hope of a resurrection. In 1819 waa 



II.] ONEIDA COUNTY. 55 

witnessed the disbanding of the Federal party, and tiie 
amalgamation of" a large proportion of it with the Clinton- 
ians, a section that had seceded fi-om the Democratic party. 
For a fchort season the Clintoniaus had the ascendancy in 
the county, and in the county, as in the State, although Mr. ' 
(Jlinton by reason of his personal popularity usually obtained 
.a majority, yet the Democrats succeeded in the Legislature. 
In 1821 a Convention was called to amend the State Consti- 
tution. In this body the Clintonians in this county were 
represented by three delegates, and the Democrats by two. 
The Convention was decidedly Democratic, and the amended 
(institution which emanated from it, did away with the 
Council of Appointment, and the property qualification for 

suffraa'e, the two most obnoxious provisions of tlic old Con- 
to I ■*■ 

stitutioji. Mr. Clinton's death took place soon after the 
commencement of the Anti-Masonie excitement, and the 
ibrmation of that party. Strong men joined the Anti- 
Masonic party in the county ; yet Oneida never became so 
far '-infected" as to once give a majority to that party. In 
1834 the Anti-Masonic party disbanded, and the present 
Whig party raised on its ruins. The Democratic party 
maintained its position in the majority until within a few 
years, when, weakened by divisions, the Whig party has 
obtained the ascendancy in the county, State, and Nation. 
The spring of 1851 has witnessed another political somerset 
in the county, the Supervisors elected standing eighteen 
Democrats to twelve Whigs. 

At the close of this political notice of the county, it may 
not be entirely uninteresting to the reader to have a short 
account of a political celebration of the '• olden time," al- 
though in the numbers who participated, it fell far short of 
mpdern political gatherings at the raising of log cabins, 
hickory poles, etc. 



56 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTV. [CIIAP. 

In September, 1801, the Democratic party liaviug suc- 
ceeded in electing Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency of the 
Union, and George Clinton to the gubernatorial chair of 
New York, the few of that party in Oneida County — 
barely sufficient to form a corporal's guard — determined to 
celebrate their A'ictories by a public dinner. The day and 
jjlaee were appointed, of which public notice was given. The 
place was White's Tavern, in AVhitesboro, then kept by the 
widow of Daniel C. White. For days the busy hum of 
preparation was heard. Pigs squeaked their final gasp, and 
gobblers strutted their last brief hour, to grace the ponderous 
table. A cannon, that for many a long year had graced tho 
parapets of Fort Stanwix, and poured forth its booming 
tliunder on St. Leger's beleaguering forces, was, carted, the 
day preceding the dinner, through the intervening fens and 
morasses, to belch forth its joyous roar to each successi\-e 
toast. The day arrived. It was most propitious. No 
skulking clouds obstructed sol's morning rays. Early the 
guests by twos and threes hurried their way to the banquet. 
But on their arrival what consternation ! " The cannon i.s 
stolen," resounded from every mouth. Nought disheartened, 
another gun must be procured. It could be done in time, if 
man nor beast were spared. John B. Pease, trusty and 
true, was soon dispatched to relieve Fort Stanwix of another 
portion of its artillery. John Gilpin's famous i*ide, com- 
pared with his, was tame. Howe'er, a new disaster overtook 
him. When the return journey was but half performed, the 
vehicle gave out ! But the good Dutch Colonel, who lived 
where Oriskany's waters mingle with the Mohawk, kindly- 
supplied another, and soon the smoking steeds stood panting 
at our hostess' door, and joyous cheers announce the quick 
arrival. Anon the guests, fourteen all told, are doing ample 
justice to the good tilings the lone hostess had prepared, and 
soon, like all things else, the feast is at an end. 



n] ONEIDA COUNTY. 57 

The clotli removed, the sparkling, mocking wine appears. 
The first of thirteen toasts is then announced. No cannon's 
roar responded. The gun is spiked ; or, to use the lines of 
the Federal bard for the occasion: 

"A rat-tail file foil from the .skies, 
And spiked the gun before their eyes.'' 

These Democrats were still in courage. A sturdy son of 
Vulcan, residing in the same village, with sleeve uproUed, 
brawny arm, and ponderous sledge, cleared out the obstructed 
vent, and in due time nineteen discharges, told all within the 
sound, that thirteen regulars and half twelve volunteers had 
been drank. The ceremonies over, adieus exchanged, and 
ei-e the sun had sunk to rest beyond " Ontario's waters," all, 
all, had left for distant homes. 

The half is not told. Time sped its way, as all time does, 
and the printed weekly messenger, " The Whitestown Gazette 
and Cato's Patrol," was scattered wide, by post, among the 
people. It was a small sheet, perhaps a little more than 
geven by nine. Weekly news and advertisements, com- 
pressed to smallest space, it had ; but the " Poet's corner " 
was filled to overflowing. 'Twas all about the Democratic 
celebration. Low and blackguardly in language, its only 
merit Avas its rhyme. It thus began : 

" From SimoiuLs down to Doctor Shaw, 
One great in physic, one in law." 

'Twas said to have been the production of one who had 
ppent long years in classic halls. Each of the fourteen 
Democrats came in by turns for a large share of personal 
abuse, if abuse it could be called. Capt. Isaac Jones re- 
ceived his full proportion, was termed " A would-be Justice 
living on the Genesee road." Tlie sheet was read and laid 



58 ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [C'llAP. 

aside. Another week rolled round, and then another " Ga- 
zette" came to its patrons. Canto II "of the same sort" 
came with it. 'Twas like its predecessor, only its low slang 
sought to be more abusive. A specimen is given. Doct. 
Shaw's optics were of tlie largest, lightest kind. In speaking 
of tlie Doctor, the poet says : 

'■With eyes like ncw-pcclcfl onions." 

In those early days readers were so sparse, that one paper 
liad to suffice for the whole county. Not then as now. Novr', 
one party has its Observer. Dcmrx'rcU^ and Sentinel; the 
other its Herald, Whig, and Citizen ; and temperance men 
their Teetotaller, besides religious. Then one paper liad to 
cater for all its readers^ and small patronage at that. There- 
fore, he that was termed " the would-be Justice," in the same 
paper that contained the second ''Canto," was heard, — 'twas 
;:11 in prose, except one half the motto. It thus began : '-For 
as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laugliter of 
a fool." 

'• What sorry poems, what a vvTCtched chime. 
Do such mere poltroons jiiiglo into rhyme." 

It was short, caustic, and severe. Opponents freely ad- 
mitted that the Captain took the ;ulvantage. The article 
thus concluded : — " You say I am a would-be Justice. God 
knows I want no office, but I am pro.ud, infiuitely proud, of 
being with a majority of three millions of freemen ; and let 
me say to you, that your production is as heartily despised 
by the candid of your own party as by mine." And so it 
was. Federalists were heard to say, "that the actors should 
liave been asliamed to have interfered in the least, and ob- 
structed the celebration. That if the Democi'ats wished to 
meet and partake of a public dinner, they had a perfect 
right to do so ; that we had fought for liberty, and our 



n.] ONEIDA COUNTY, 59 

citizens had the right, if they in no way disturbed the peace, 
to enjoy it." 

In conclusion, the little petty persecutions at Whitesboro. 
no doubt made scores of Democrats in the county. 

The foregoing is entirely from recollection. It is believed 
no copy of the papers are left in the county. 

The names of the fourteen individuals who participated 
in the celebration, were, — John B. Pease, Esq., and Hon. 
ilufus Easton, of Rome ; Maj. John Bellinger, Col. Nicholas 
Smith, Hon. Francis A. Bloodgood, James S. Kip, and 
3Iartiu Dakin, Esquires, of Utica ; Capt. Isaac Jones, Capt. 
rfamuel Collins, and Hon. Truman Enos, of Westmoreland ; 
John R. Todd, Esq., of Verona ; and Alexander Enos, Esq., 
Doet. Jonathan Shaw, and Shadrach Smith, of Whitestown. 
Tlie last-named was the blacksmith who cleared the spiking 
from the gun. Joseph Simonds, Esq., of Clinton, an Attor- 
ney at that place, was to have been present and delivered an 
address, but was prevented by sickness. 



Coxe's Patent. — This is considered an appropriate place 
to notice this extensive Patent, extending across a portion of 
Home, and quite across Westmoreland, Kirkland, and Paris, 
to the north line of Bridgwater. It was bounded on the 
west by the line of property, and extends the whole length 
of it. By the survey of this Patent, the line of property is 
twenty-two miles and sixty-four chains in length. Tlie 
Patent is bounded on the south by Bridg-water, on the east 
by Cosby's Manor, Bayar's, Morris', and Orisk^ny Patents, 
and north by Wood Creek. It contained 47,000 acres, and 
was a part of 100,000 acres granted by George III to 
William Coxe, Rebecca Coxe, John Tabor Kempe, and 
Grace his wife, descendants of Daniel Coxe, doctor of physic, 
OH condition that said descendants execute a grant, release, 



60 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAP. 

and surrender to the crown of all their right and tike, or 
pretended right and tike, to the Province of Carolana and 
Islands, as described in a certain original Patent to Sir 
Robert Heath. The Patent also prescribes that the said 
Grace Kempe certify her consent and acceptance, by siicli 
separate examination as, according to the laws of New York, 
will bind the inheritance of married women. It was granted 
without quit-rents for ten years. It was also made with the 
following reservation : — " Except and always reserved all 
mines of gold and silver, also all white or other sorts of pine 
trees, twenty-four inches in diameter twelve inches from the 
ground, fit for masts for the royal navy. 

'• Said tract to form two townships : that lying north-west 
of the Oriskany Creek to be Coxeborough, that to the south- 
east of said creek to be Carolana. Each of said townships 
to have two Assessors, one Treasurer, two Overseers of 
Highways, two Overseers of Poor, one Collector, and four 
Constables, to be elected on the first Tuesday of May in 
each year, by a majority of the freeholders. 

'■'• Signed by Cadwallader Colden, at our Fort, in tiie (,'ity 
of New York; on the SOtli day of May, A. D. 1770.-' 



JIl/] ANNSVILLE. 61 



CHAPTER III. 

ANNSVILLK. 

(Jeology. — The geology of this town presents features 
peculiarly interesting, perhaps as much so as in any town 
in the county. The indications are quite distinct, that por- 
tions of this town w^ei-^ at some former period covered with 
the waters of three small lakes. 

The first, or lower one, was situated in the south-east 
corner of the town, and covered all that portion known as the 
Forks. This lake must have been about three miles in 
length from east to west, and two in width from north to 
south, covering an area of about six square miles. Its form 
was irregular, something in the shape of the human foot and 
leg, the toes to the north and the leg to the west. Its inlets 
were the east and west branches of Fish Creek, or perhaps 
more properly Fish Creek and Mad River ; for the author 
finds that the names Mad River and West Branch are 
indiscriminately applied, by the inhabitants in the vicinity, 
to that branch of the stream. The outlet was at or near 
where Fish Creek now escapes from the valley. The barrier 
— feeble, to be sure — which confined this lake in the neigh- 
borhood of the outlet, was composed mainly of sand, inter- 
mixed here and there with small portions of clay and gravel. 
If conjecture be allowable, this barrier was forced by the 
accumulation of water thrown against it by the giving away 
■of the banks which confined the upper lakes, and then this 



62 ANNALS OF ONKIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

increased body of water forcing its way to the Oneida Lake. 
On the south, east, and west sides, the shores seem to have 
been composed of the same material as the barrier, as rit) 
rocks and very few stones were found ; but on the north 
side the rock formation commences, which extends north, 
east, and west, beyond the limits of the town. What was 
once the bottom of this lake, is now one of the finest agricul- 
tural sections of the town or county. This alluvial bottom 
in some parts contains many small pebbles, mostly of the 
same kind as those in the north part of the town, brought 
down and worn smooth by the floods of centuries. Occa- 
sionally granite bowlders are found, out of place to be sure, 
for there is no granite formation in the town, or nearer than 
the north-east part of Jefferson and the eastorn part of Her- 
kimer Counties. The water in this lake in many places 
was probably one hundred feet in depth. 

The second lake of this chain was situated about three- 
fourths of a mile northerly from the first. In size it was 
smaller, and in form more regular, being semicircular, pro- 
bably covering two square miles. What were its shores are 
entirely difl^rent in character from the first, the surface being 
composed of stone, gravel, and loam, while the lower stratum 
consisted of friable slate, alternated with a harder kind. 
The slate is divided, by perpendicular and parallel seams, 
into small sections or blocks. Its inlet was the east branch 
of Fish Creek, and its outlet where the creek now runs, at 
its south-west corner. The channel here cut through the 
stone, gravel, and slate, is from fifteen to twenty rods in 
width, and in some places sixty feet in depth. Its bottom 
rested on the rock formation which underlays this section of 
the town. The alluvial soil now covering it, is rendered 
nearly untiUable by the quantity of stone brought from 
above by the water. Near the south-west corner there was 



in.] ANNSVILLE. 63 

a bay, ruuuing threc-fourtli>-5 of a mile north-west. The 
point formed by the bay and lake is composed mostly of con- 
glomerate or pudding-stone, overlaid with sand. In one 
place sand-stone is in the process of formation. The cement 
of the sand-stone and conglomerate is probably lime, althougii 
lime is found nowhere else in the vicinity. In the basin of 
this lake and bay is now situated Taberg Village. Its sur- 
face must have been at least fifty feet higher than the first. 

The third and last lake was situated about one mile 
nearly due north from the second. In size and character it 
nearly resembled the second, with the exception that the 
creek, in the long course of ages, has worn for itself a chan- 
nel of fifty or sixty feet lower than the bottom of the lake. 
Its elevation above the second lake must have been at least 
one hundred feet. The water at its lower end might have 
been sixty feet in depth, but in the upper part quite shallow. 
An island arose nearly sixty feet from its surface. It was 
known to the early settlers as Walnut Hill, from the grovt; 
of white walnuts which covered a portion of its surface. An 
outlet, where at least a portion of its waters were discharged, 
can be traced from its north end into the valley of West 
Creek in the town of Lee. This stream, by a circuitous 
route of some ten miles, empties into Fish Creek one mile 
below the lower lake. 

The channel of the creek above this last lake, assumes 
the picturesque and sublime, beyond the power of descrip- 
tion; and for three miles there are few places where its 
banks can be ascended or descended in safety. .The sides of 
this chasm are walled up with rock, from eighty to three 
hundred feet in height, and the spectator from the giddy 
height looks down into the tops of tall trees which have for 
centuries braved the raging>s of the stream and storms. To 
hhn, full grown persons at the bottom apparently dwindle 



64 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cilAP. 

to mere pigmies. His sensations become allied to fear, but 
he soon learns to look from his perilous position with com- 
posure. To the spectator in the chasm, the forest trees at 
the top dwindle into mere shrubs. He looks with awe and 
wonder at the hoary crags and overhanging rocks above him, 
and his imagination is carried far back as he beholds the 
effects of mighty causes v>hich have been in operation for 
ages. Here the waters from the melting snows of a thou- 
sand winters, and the rains of as many summers, falling in 
this extensive valley, have found a passage to the Oneida 
Lake, in their way overcoming every obstacle, removing 
every barrier. Around him the visitor sees, in v^-ild confu- 
sion, the fragments left by this war of the elements, broken, 
worn, and rounded by the action of the hurried waters, and 
their violent contacts with each other. From the head of 
this branch of Fish Creek to the Forks, a distance of nearly 
forty miles, the current is very rapid, falling from thirty to 
seventy-five feet per mile. 

Within the town of Annsville, and above the upper lake, 
the creek receives but two tributaries of any importance. 

Miller's Creek empties into it near the head of the upper 
lake. It received its name from the first settler on its 
banks. It flows from the west, and its main features arc the 
same as those of Fish Cr^ek, its channel being worn equally 
deep in the rock. 

Fall Brook empties into Fish Creek about three mile?t 
above Miller's Creek, and it also flows from the west. It 
takes its name from the falls where it empties into the creek. 
Unlike Miller's Creek, it has its channel upon the first layer 
of rocks until it falls into the main stream. 

This fall is divided into three separate foils : the upper of 
fourteen feet, the middle of twenty feet, and the lower of 
sixty feet. The channel of Fish Creek where it receive? 



Ill] ANNSVILLE. 65 

this stream, is about one hundred and fifty feet in depth, and 
the rocks have been worn back by the falls twenty-five rods. 
The bottom of this chasm has an area of about an acre in a 
triangular form, the base on Fish Creek and the apex at the 
falls. This is covered with the fragments of rocks, which 
once helped to fill up the chasm. Approaching from below, 
the visitor hears the roar, and meets a current of wind and 
spray some time before the falls are visible. A small stream 
is seen dashing and foaming at his feet, sometimes beneath 
the fragments of rocks, sometimes overleaping them. It 
seems, after so troublous a course, gladly to lose its identity 
in Fish Creek. As the visitant approaches nearer the falls, 
the almost perpendicular walls of rock, at least one hundred 
feet in height on either hand, become visible. The roar and 
spray increase, when, after passing a few more fragments 
covered with foliage and wet with spray, the falls are at once 
in view. Here a scene of sublimity and grandeur, little an- 
ticipated, is before him. Directly in front, is the fall of 
sixty feet, and about twenty-five in width, falling into a deep 
foaming pool below. 

A current of air is created by the falling water sufficient 
to keep the leaves and tendrils of the trees that overhang 
the chasm in constant motion. Above, he sees the two upper 
fails plunging from one ledge of rocks to another, as if pre- 
paring for their final leap. When the stream is low, much 
of the water is dissipated in spray, but when swollen by rain 
or melting snow, it forms a scene of grandeur and sublimity 
beyond the powers of description. Trenton Falls excepted, 
probably no place in the county possesses equal attractions to 
the lover of nature's wild magnificence. Standing, as the 
spectator does, in this frightful chasm, where the light and 
heat of summer but partially ever comes, amid the fragments 
of rocks and the ruins of towering cliffs, be feels the vanity 



GG ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAT, 

of all tliat is human, and is thus led from nature up Uf 
nature's God, and he can hardly leave without becoming a 
better and wiser man. 

Th'e rock mentioned as underlaying this town, is a bluish- 
grey sand-stone. It is in layers of from six inches to two- 
feet in thickness, and is cut into square and angular block.s 
by seams. Good building stone to any amount can bo 
quarried on the banks of the creek, but it is too hard to be 
cut. It is not known that any other rock of this kind is 
found in this part of the State. It grows harder after being- 
quarried and exposed to the air. The rock is underlaid and 
overlaid with dark-colored friabl-e slate. The strata are from 
three inches to five feet in thickness. It soon falls to pieces 
on being exposed to the action of the sun, rains, and frost. 
It is evidently what our State geologists term Pulaski shah'. 
The conglomerate or pudding-stone found near Taberg, has 
been already mentioned, as also the few bowlders of granite 
at the Forks. Beside these, it is not known that there 
is but one other kind of stone in the town, and that is com- 
posed of organic and vegetable remains. Of this stone, a 
portion is found in bowlders, and in some places it is found 
in strata among the slate and sand-stone. Some of the shells 
in this rock are two and even four inches in diameter. There 
is a slight dip in all the rocks in this town to the south and 
west. There has, as yet, been no minerals or ores discovered 
in this town, excepting bog iron, which is found in many 
places, but in small quantities. In most places the water 
has drained off, and left it to oxidize to an extent that ren- 
ders it nearly worthless. 

WATEK POWER. 

Probably no town in the county possesses as good and 
extensive water power as the town of Anusville. The prin- 



111.] AN'NSVILLE. 67 

C'ipal streams Lave been already mentioued, with the excep- 
tion of the small one which empties into Fish Creek at 
Taber^, the water of which is sufficient for a blast furnace 
in the driest season. All the streams are very rapid. Fish 
Creek has a course of ten miles in this town, with a fall of 
from thirty to one hundred feet per mile. Indeed, so far as 
fall is concerned, it is believed its whole waters can be used 
every hundred rods in that distance. Its tributaries furnish 
almost as much power as the main stream. Although there 
is hardly one-twentieth of the water jjower occupied yet, there 
are now in operation two grist and flouring mills, twenty-one 
saw mills, twelve shingle mills, four lath mills, four turning 
lathes, two stave machines, one wool-carding, cloth-dressing, 
and manufacturing establishment, one blast furnace, two 
cupola furnaces, and two tanneries. Besides these, there is 
other machinery in the process of erection. 

The blast furnace at Taberg requires more than a passing 
notice. In 1809 the Oneida Iron and Glass Manufacturing 
Companj'^ commenced operations where the furnace now 
stands. They gave it the name Taberg from that of cele- 
brated ironworks in Europe. In 1811 it commenced its 
first blast, and has continued its operations from that time to 
the present with but occasional stoppages. For some years 
it was extensively engaged in the manufacture of hollow 
ware, and similar articles. For a few years past, under a 
change of owners and direction, it has been exclusively used 
for the manufacture of pig iron. The castings of this fur- 
nace have ever sustained the highest reputation for strength 
and durability. Even now, the pig iron from this furnace 
suffers but little in comparison with the best Scotch pig, and 
for many uses it is even its superior. In the south-west part 
of the town there is an elevation known as Pond Hill, which 
receives its name from the pond situated upon it. It covers 



68 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

aQ area of about six acres, and its altitude is about seventy- 
five feet higher than the country around it, and its depth is 
unknown. It has no visible inlet or outlet, and it must be 
kept up by springs below its surface. 



GEOCrRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 

The town of Annsville is bounded on the east by the town 
of Lee, south by Rome and Vienna, west by Camden and 
Florence, and on the north by the line between Oneida and 
Lewis Counties. The general surface of the town is some- 
what broken and uneven. Its general declination is to the 
south and east. Large swells, or ridges, running east and 
west, commence in the south, and rise higher and higher to 
the north line of the town. Between these rise and flow 
larger and smaller tributaries of Fish Creek. On the west- 
ern side there is a small section which sends its waters into 
the West Branch, or Mad River. 



SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS 



This town contains every variety of soil. The south- 
eastern section is to a considerable extent clayey, with occa- 
sional small sections of sand and gravel. The soil of this 
part is quite productive in all the grains and grasses of the 
county. The south-western section is more elevated, drier, 
more sandy, and stoney in some places, and is the best sec- 
tion for grain, but probably not for grass. The north-east 
section is stoney and somewhat broken. The soil is strong, 
adapted to grain better than grass. The north-west section 
is better adapted to meadow and pasturage than the other.s, 
but is not as good for grain, excepting the kinds termed 
English grain. 



III.] ANKSVILLE. 69 

By the censas of 1845, the following list of the products, 
agricultural and other, is obtained : 

Barley 41 acres 225 bushels. 

Teas 20 '■ 494 

Beans 24 '• 124 " 

Buckwheat - - - - 399 " 5,975 " 

Turnips . - . . 46 " 2,574 

Potatoes 306 " 15,733 

Flax 11>; " 1,530 pounds. 

Wheat 170 " 1,447 bushels. 

Corn 811 " 15,138 

Rye 109 " 926 

Oats 1/290 " 32,880 

Butter 105,458 pounds. 

Cheese 7,440 '• 

Wool 5,879 

Fulled Cloth 1,482 yards. 

Flannel 3,598 

Linen and Cotton 2,257 " 

Two Flouring Mills using - S 14,000 raw material, 
Turned out - - - 15,000 manufactured article. 

Eighteen Saw Mills using - S 13,605 raw material, 
Turned out - . - - 30,959 manufactured article. 

Carding Machine using - $4,200 raw material, 
Turned out ... 5,680 manufactured article. 

Iron Works using - - - S 9,449 raw material, 
Turned out - - - 14,400 manufactured article. 

Asherics using . - - $ 550 raw material, 

Turned out ... 725 manufactured article. 

Two Tanneries using - - $2,889 raw material, 
Turned out ... 3,983 manufactured article. 

No of Horses 626 

" Sheep 2,868 

" Hogs 1,522 

" Cows 1,059 

" Other Neat Cattle 1,112 

Some of these sources of prosperity have largely increased 
since the last census, particularly that of lumber. It will 



70 ANNATES OF ONEIDA COU^.'TY. [cilAP 

be perceived there are now three more saw mills than in 
1845. 

The construction of plank roads has become so exten- 
sive, that the lumber business is now far more extensive. 
y.\ large amount of plank suitable for that purpose, has 
been furnished from the forests and mills of this town ; and 
more shingles have also recently been manufactured and 
sent to the eastern market. Large quantities of hemlock, 
pine, spruce, curled and pinned maple, cherry ash, and bass- 
wood lumber, are annually sent from this town to the Erie 
('anal to be shipped for market. 

It will be perceived that the persons taking the census 
were not required to furnish the statistics of a number of 
branches of the lumber business, to wit : the manufixeturing 
of shingles, laths, staves, and the various articles froui turn- 
ing laths. 

To all these should be added great improvements in 
buildings, and those of farms in fencing and ditching. 

A few years since, the Legislature passev^l a law allowing 
the towns of Rome, Annsville, and Florence, to vote at their 
annual town meeting $2,000 each for the improvement of 
the State road from Rome to Sacketts Harbor. They all 
passed the requisite votes, and are now fully realizing the 
wisdom of the measure in their improved facility in getting 
their products to market, and in the increased travel through 
their towns. There are three taverns in this town with 
sufficient accommodations to meet this inci-ease of business. 
A company has been formed, the stock taken, and a plank 
road constructed from Taberg to Rome, on the route of the 
State road. There are also two stores and one grocery in 
the town. 



m.] ANNSVILLE, 71 



The branch of the Oneida Tribe which formerly resided 
a,t the meadows in this town, have been mentioned in the 
general account of the tribe. During or about the time of 
the old French war, a party of Canadian Indians, about 
twenty in number, came and settled at the Forks. They 
came for the purpose of enjoying the fishery. This exceed- 
ingly annoyed the Oneidas, whose territory and rights w.ere 
thus invaded. They however succeeded, after a brief time, 
in driving ofi" the intruders. How much force had to be 
used in their ejectment, can not now be ascertained. 



niSTORY, ANTIQUITI2S, ANECDOTES, ETC. 

John W. Bloomfield, Esq., was the first white settler of 
this town. He moved from Burlington, New Jersey, and 
made his first improvement near where Doct. Beech now 
resides. He purchased a large tract of land, and soon built 
a saw mill and grist mill. Mr. Bloomfield stayed the night 
before he arrived within the present limits of Oneida County, 
eight miles below Utica, then Fort Schuyler. This was in 
April, 1793. In the morning he started before breakfast, 
intending to make that necessary meal at Fort Schuyler. 
When he arrived there, such was the dearth of " creature 
romforU]'' that the hostess told him she had nothing with 
which she could refresh either himself or horse. As the 
only alternative, he was obliged to mount poor " dobbin,'' 
who was as hungry as himself, and travel another four miles 
over a dreary road to Whitesboro. It must be recollected 
tJiat this was not in these railroad times, but in the days 



^'-i ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAr. 

when from oue to two miles per hour over the corduroy and 
mud, was doing very well. Suffice it to say, that he arrived 
at Judge White's just iu time not to miss the dinner hour, 
breakfasting and dining at the same time. He remained 
with Judge White about two weeks, and then went to Rome, 
then Fort Stanwix. The same day upon which he arrived 
at Fort Stanwix, the late George Huntington arrived with a 
small assortment of goods, as noticed in the history of Rome. 
After staying a short time, he went on to his purchase at 
Taberg. The next year after Esquire Bloomfield arrived at 
Taberg, he employed a man by the name of Gere to dig a 
well. Gere resided in the present town of Lee. After he 
had progressed to a considerable depth, the sand caved in 
and caught his feet and legs, and Mr. Bloomfield went down 
to extricate him. When he had landed at the bottom, he 
looked up, and saw that the sides of the well were cracking 
and heaving, ready to fall in upon them. He sprang and 
caught hold of the rope used for drawing up the earth, and 
by powerful exertion, succeeded in extricating himself, while 
poor Gere was covered to a great depth, and with him all the 
shovels on or near the premises. A messenger was imme- 
diately dispatched to Lee, and another to Rome, to get help 
and shovels. This was about the middle of the afternoon. 
Gere could talk with ihosi on the surface, said that the tub 
which was suspended by the rope over him had prevented 
the sand from falling upon his head, and that he was not 
hurt, and only sufiered for the want of fresh air. How 
intense were the feelings of the few by-standers ! Minutes 
seemed ages before help arrived ; but very soon, in propor- 
tion to the distance, men came scattering in with shovels. 
Fiach went to work as if the preservation of the life of a 
human being depended on his individual exertions. Such 
however was the vast amount of earth which had caved in, 



m.J ANNSVILLE. 73 

and the constant running in, like water, of the sand from the 
sides, that the work proceeded very slowly. All night they 
toiled on without succeeding in reaching the sufferer. Each 
succeeding hour his voice grew more feeble, until some time 
in the night it ceased for ever. In the morning the force 
was increased, but it was nearly noon before all that re- 
mained of the poor well-digger was exhumed. The bod}' 
was taken to Lee to be buried. He left a wife and children, 
and two of his sons afterwards lived with Mr. Bloomfield. 

Previous to the breaking up the settlement of the Oneida 
Indians at the Forks, they used to bring salmon to Mr. 
Bloomfield at Taberg, for which he paid them a certain price 
per pound. The Indians were not slow in learning that 
the heavier the fish the more money they received. One 
day an Indian brought him a back load of fish, and they 
were, as usual, weighed and paid for. On dressing them, it 
was found that each fish had been heavily charged with 
gravel stones ; but before the discovery was made, the poor 
Indian was far on his way to the Forks with his ill-gotten 
gains. A few days afterwards, Mr. Bloomfield saw Powlis, 
their chief, and complained of the fraud practised upon him. 
Powlis was very indignant, and said that Mr. Bloomfield 
had ever paid a fair price for every article he had purchased 
of them, and that he should not again be so illy treated ; and 
in all his purchases afterwards, Mr. B. never found a fish 
with so indigestible a dressing. 

One day, while Mr. Bloomfield was out upon his farm, an 
Indian came to his house, and requested Mrs. Bloomfield to 
let him have some liquor. This she resolutely refused, and 
he still as resolutely demanded it, saying that he knew they 
had it in the house. Finding that words did not terrify 
her, he drew his knife, and by threatening gestures drove 
her into a corner of the room, thinking thus to terrify her, 



74 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

SO that the liquor would be forthcoming. In this he was 
mistaken, for she then, in a determined voice, directed some 
member of the family to go out and call Mr. Bloomfield, 
who was not far distant. By this time he had learned the 
spirit of the woman, and thought he had better beat a hasty 
retreat, while he could with a sound skin, which he at once 
effected. Tlie next day, to make peace with her, and to 
convince her that he highly appreciated her firmness,, he 
brought a fine saddle of venison, and presented it to her. 
She was ever afterwards well treated by the Indians. 

Another of the early settlers of Annsville. was Mr. Elias 
Brewster. Originally from Connecticut, and a descendant of 
the pilgrims, he emigrated to this county in 1789 or 17^90. 
He commenced upon a farm in the town of Western, near 
where is now the village of Delta. In 180G he bought a lot in 
the town of Annsville, and commenced cleariuo- it in Marcli 
of that year; and on the 1st of April, 1807, he removed his 
family to his new home. He had the curiosity to measure 
the snow on his premises, and found it five feet in depth ; 
Lind it was not all gone on the 1st of May. (The writer well 
remembers measuring the snow in the forest, and found it 
four and a half feet deep on the 7th of April of that year ; 
and this was in a location where it was not drifted, and in 
the town of Westmoreland.) The cabin into which he moA^ed 
was of the rudest kind. Crotches were set in the ground, 
from which poles were placed to support the roof The roof 
and siding were of rough boards and slabs. These had to 
be hauled three miles, at great labor, upon a route where no 
road or bridge had been constructed. A fire in a primitive 
fireplace at one end, over which an opening had been left for 
the escape of the smoke, warmed its inmates. A rough door, 
hung with strips of raw hide, and a window the paper panes 
of which were made transparent with oil, completed the 



in.] ANNSVILLE. 75 

tlomicil of the new settler. His nearest nelglibors were 
some two miles distant in the town of Lee. Wolves, 
panthers, bears, and foxes were much too plenty for the 
.•=afety of flocks, herds, and the tenants of the farm yard, 
and not unfrequently w-ere the settlers obliged to resort to 
.strong pens, and watch-fires for their protection. Many 
imd amusing were their encounters with these free den- 
izens of the forest. As in all new settlements, their 
cattle had in summer to graze in the wide forest for subsis- 
tence ; therefoi'e, " bringing the cows " became household 
words with all the juveniles (gray-haired now) of those days. 
On one occasion it Avas near night before Mr. Brewster 
started for these useful animals, and ascertaining their direc- 
tion by the tinkling of the bell suspended from the neck of 
the '■'• old coic^'' he at once dashed into the forest. lie found 
them a full mile from his house, and sunset warning him that 
darkness would soon be upon him, he therefore started the 
cows rapidly for home. The road was circuitous to avoid a 
miry swamp. The more rapid striking of the bell notified 
the family that the cows were found, and in full motion for 
home, as well as of the progress made. When about two- 
thirds of the distance was accomplished, the wild, unearthly 
.•^cream of a panther on the track in the rear, gave notice to 
all concerned of the extreme danger of the father. These 
screams were continued at short intervals, and distinctly 
showed that the panther was fast gaining upon the bell. 
Soon the cattle reached home, and were let into the little 
clearing, when such a shrill and prolonged scream rang out 
from the darkness, apparently but a few rods from the 
house, as if once heard will ever be remembered. As soon 
as the cattle were yarded, a fire was kindled in the enclosure, 
which, with the aid of horns, tin pans, and brass kettles, 
fuceessfully frightened away tlie unwelcome visitor; not. 



76 ANNALS or ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

however, until it had given a full and fair specimen of the 
hideousness of its notes, and its capabilities in prolonging 
them. On the following morning, the bark of a recently 
fallen beech tree showed the capacity of the animal to harm 
a subject more congenial to its appetite. 

In the autumn of the second season of Brewster's residence 
in town, the bears committed great depredations in his corn 
field. A neighbor, who had recently moved to within about 
one mile of him, was the owner of a large black sow. In 
her perambulations, this animal had also learned the where- 
abouts of the corn field, and seemed to vie with Bruin in 
her sad havoc of the crop. The apology for a fence, was 
what was known in those days as a '• tree fence," which was 
not a very good barrier against the grunting quadruped. 
She had often been forcibly ejected, but as often made a 
forcible re-entrance. One evening, and about dark, Mr. 
Brewster heard the work of destruction again going on in 
the corn field, some thirty rods from the house ; and from 
the earliness of the hour he concluded it was the tame and 
not the wild trespasser. He therefore directed his son, of 
about twelve years of age, to go and again dispossess the 
animal. The little fellow demurred, saying that it was of 
no use. A reiteration of the order, however, caused him to 
start, not however in the best possible humor with things in 
general, or the black sow in particular. By the time he had 
arrived at the point of the animal's depredations, he had laid 
in, as instruments of expulsion, a number of good-sized 
stones. The beast was so busily engaged as not to discover 
the boy until he was close upon it, and had saluted it with a 
full volley of stones. At first the animal stood on the de- 
fensive, but another volley caused it to seek safety in flight. 
Satisfied with the ease with which he had expelled the sow, 
he returned to the house, reflecting upon her expertness 



III.] ANNSVILLE. 77 

iu climbing the brush and logs of the fence. He told his 
father it was of " no further use to try to keep out the sow, 
as she could climb as well as a cat, for she went over the 
fence where it wa^ fifteen feet high." This aroused the sus- 
picions of the father, and he enquired how the beast behaved 
when he commenced stoning it. The boy replied that " she 
raised herself upon her hind feet as if to make fight, when 
he sent a good big stone that hit her in the side of the head, 
which caused her to run and climb the fence " as described. 
By this time the father was satisfied with the nature of the 
beast the boy had driven from the field. He said nothing, 
however, for fear of alarming the family. The next morn- 
ing, on repairing to the scene of operations, he discovered, by 
the size and shape of the tracks, that instead of a sow, his 
boy had been dealing with a huge bear. The next day two 
guns were set in the field, and some time in the night fol- 
lowing, the report of the guns announced that something had 
crossed the cord. The following morning a bear was found 
dead but a few rods from the scene of operations. It was 
of the largest size, weighing about four hundred pounds. 

As late as the year 1827 or 1828, the bears again made 
their appearance in this town, and did great damage to the 
corn crop. 

On the 16th of August, 1816, a man by the name of 
William Lord, a neighbor to Mr. Brewster, went to Taberg 
after some necessaries for his family, and some rum, with 
which to do his harvesting. The distance was about two 
miles, and there was no road through the forest on any por- 
tion of his route. He had to cross Fish Creek where the 
Coalhill Bridge is now located. He reached Taberg, trans- 
acted his business, and just at night started for home, but 
was observed to be partially intoxicated when he left. The 
banks of Fish Creek, above the crossing place, are pre- 



78 ANNALS Oi' ONEIDA COUNTi.". [CHAr. 

cipitous and rocky. Darkness, and the fumes of the liquor, 
caused him to lose his way. instead of reaching the creek 
at the crossing place, he struck it about forty rods too high, 
and walked off the bank where it was about forty feet high, 
and fell upon the rocks, and thence into the stream. In liis 
fall he caught hold of some bushes, but their roots were too 
frail to sustain his weight, and he floated down the creek a 
few rods to still water. When found, two days afterward.^, 
the bushes were in his right hand, and the handle of the jug 
in his left. His neck was broken. The place where ho 
went off the bank was on the west side of the creek, and 
opposite- the centre of the island above the Coalhill Bridge. 
The still water where the body was found has ever since re- 
ceived the appellation of the " Rum Hole." 

Like all new settlements, the advantages of education 
were very limited, and schools were like "angels' visits, few 
and far between." The history of one day will well portray 
the troubles of "going to school" in a new settlement. 

Two little sons of one of the early settlers were attending 
the summer term of their district school in 18 16. The eldest 
was nine, the youngest six years of age. Rain or sunshine, 
cold or hot, they had to walk three miles in the morning to 
reach the school house, and the same distance at night. Two 
little girls, of about the same ages, resided on their road, one 
mile nearer the school. The eldest girl was a slender, deli- 
cate thing; while her younger sister was stout and robust. 
The same disparity existed between the boys, but in the; 
reverse : the eldest being a strong, athletic little fellow, and 
withal possessed of an indomitable will, that enabled him to 
do anything which could be done by an urchin of that age. 
Of these four, the youngest girl was the only one that 
possessed a pair of shoes, the other« having to make their 
long daily walk with bare feet : and c^T^n the small girl wa- 



Ill,} ANNSVIL-LE. 79 

not fortunate enougii to possess those comfortable accoiu' 
panimcnts of shoes, — a pair of stockings. 

Those of us old enough will remember the 6th day of 
June, 1810. It had been preceded by cold frosty nights, 
and on that day it snowed in every part of the county, and 
iu some parts it fell several inches in depth. Cold as was 
the morning, these four children were punctually at school. 
The school house — none too comforable for pleasant weather 
— had become so cold by two o'clock in the afternoon, that 
the pupils were dismissed, with directions to go to the near- 
est house on their way home. There was a house on the 
road of the four we have introduced to our readers, about 
one-fourth of a mile from' the school house. To this house, 
by moving in double quick time, they managed to get : but 
to their utter dismay, they found the door fastened, and it,s 
inmates from home. Here was a dilemma. To retrograde 
was useless, for the home of the girls, one and three-fourth 
miles distant, was as near as any inhabited dwelling. Snow 
was falling, and it was already two inches deep. Our eldest 
boy's strength of nerve was now put to the test. Nothing 
daunted, however, he well laid his plana, and at once pro- 
ceeded to put them in execution. He had that morning — 
rather clandestinely, it is true — appropriated his father's 
roundabout, quite too capacious for him, yet possessing two 
very important advantages : it shielded him from the cold, 
and its extensive pockets, one on each side, served as a de- 
posit for all the ct ceteras oi the school boy, viz. : — a ball, 
tish-hook and line, top, knife, sling, and whistle, toys as 
necessary to the man in miniature as others to those of 
larger growth. Little could he have imagined to how much 
more important uses these huge pockets would be put during 
the day. He directed the two girls to walk on as fast and as 
far as tbey could without freezing, then t© sit down and both 



80 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

rub the eldest girl's feet with their hands until he came up. 
He then took his brother upon his back, with a foot in each 
pocket, and his arms about his neck, and followed on. When 
he came up with the girls, he put down his brother, and told 
him and the smaller girl to proceed as before, and he took 
the larger girl upon his back, with her feet in those now 
useful pockets, and so on by successive stages until they had 
arrived within forty rods of the girls' home. Their father, 
who was chopping in the vicinity of the road, heard the cries 
of the girls, and came to their aid. Our hero then had the 
eldest girl upon his back, and, without speaking, the father 
caught the youngest two, one under each arm, and ran for 
the house. Our hero said he thought he never, saw a man 
run as fast before, for ere he had gone one half the distance to 
the house, the father returned, and lifting the elder girl 
from his back, took her under one arm and our hero under 
the other, and soon had them deposited before a good rousing 
fire. The mother of the girls, previous to the arrival of our 
hero, had learned from them the whole history of the trans- 
action. On his ari'ival she at once, in the fullness of her 
gratitude, loaded him with her caresses. This wounded his 
pride, although perhaps a very little of that article would 
have been excusable, for, as he supposed, lie had saved his 
fellow-sufferers from perishing. She also, by her misjudged 
kindness, had him sit near to the glowing fire. The pain in 
his feet soon became almost insupportable, a sickening sen- 
sation came over him, his vision became obscured, he grasped 
at the chair, but did not succeed, his physical powers, which 
had been so ovei--tasked, gave way, and he fell. The intense 
agony of the moment was soon lost in a state of unconscious- 
ness. For hours the poor sufferer lay insensible. The first 
thing he noticed on the return of reason, was the kind- 
hearted woman bending over him, and his father applying 



HI.] ANNSVILLE. §1 

some restorative to his feet. It was after dark. His father 
had started with his team in season to have saved all the 
suffering, had the school continued to the usual hour of dis- 
mission. He was wrapped well in warm clothing, put on a 
sled, and taken home the same evening. His feet were so 
lacerated by the stones and sticks in his path, while devoid of 
feeling, that a number of days elapsed before he could even 
walk about the house. 

Another of the early settlei-s was Squire Fairservice. He 
settled on the flats, a little above Jervis' mill, and was a 
noted fisherman. While splitting wood one day, his little 
child came out of the house, unobserved by him, and walked 
directly under his axe, and the descending blow cleft its 
,scull, and killed it instantly. After the salmon had been 
shut out of the creek, Fairservice emigrated to Wisconsin, 
where he died. 

Adam P. Campbell and Nicholas Armstrong settled on 
the meadow in 1805 or 1806. Dan Taft, and a man by the 
name of Jones, settled near where Vincent Taft now keeps a 
public house. Dan Taft for a number of years kept a noted 
tavern on the same premises. The author remembers of 
staying at it one night in June, 1814, and that a fine salmon 
graced the supper table, which had been caught the same 
day near by. About the same time a man by the name of 
Wade settled at the Forks. 

The persons named are believed to be the earliest inhabit- 
ants of the town. Some have emigrated, and others have 
'■' rested from their labors," and repose in the several ceme- 
teries in the town. But two of them are known to be living, 
John W. Bloomfield, Esq., who now resides in Rome,* and 
Adam P. Campbell, who yet resides near the scenes of his 
early toil. 

* Deceased since this account was written. 

6 



82 ANNALS or ONEIDA COUxNTi [cilAr. 

Flint arrow-heads and hatchets, with other rude articles of 
ancient date, arc found in this town. A few years since, a 
heavy freshet washed away the alluvial banks at the Forks 
to a considerable extoct. On its subsiding, there were found, 
some three feet below the surface, the remains of large earthen 
vessels, from two to three feet in diameter ; also several 
other articles, evidently made for culinary purposes. Hearths 
and fire-places were fJeo exhumed by the same freshet. 
Conjecture said that those remains were the work of a race- 
anterior to the Indian ; who, or when, must ever remain a 
blank upon the pages of the history of the country. That 
the luscious salmon has here been cooked for long centuries, 
can not be doubted ; but the civilized pale faces, by the con- 
struction of the Oswego Canal, liave probably for ever shut 
these migratory fish from the Oneida Lake and its tributa- 
ries. In this instance, civilization has worked a vast injury 
to the lovers of good living in Annsville. 

Benjamin Hyde was the first Supervisor upon the organ- 
ization of the town. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

« 



The Baptist Church in Annsville was organized February 
17, 1831, with twenty members. Samuel Bloss was its first 
pastor. In the September following, it joined the Oneida 
Baptist Association, and reported thirty-six members to that 
body. For the next ten years its increase was gradual and 
constant- In 1841, William A. Bronson was its pastor, and 
it reported 106 members. For the next three years there 
was a slight decrease of numbers. In 1845 it sent no dele- 
gates to the Association, and in 1846 the minutes of that 
body show that the church was disaolved, but there are no 



MI.] ANNSVILLE. 83 

reasons given for its dissolution. It was, however, soon after 
brought into visibility; for in 1848 it had the Rev. P. P 
Brown for pastor, and fifty -six members ; Mr. Brown preached 
to them two years. In September, 1850, the Rev. Samuel 
11. Shotwell was its pastor, and it had so increased, that it 
reported seventy-three members to the Association. A few 
years after its organization, the church and society erected 
a. small house for public worship, a little south of Taberg 
Village, and on the hill, the south bank of Fish Creek. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1838, 
V7ith nine members. The next year they erected a small 
house for worship, centrally located in the village. This 
body now contains forty-two members. 

There is a Presbyterian Chtirch and Society in this town. 
They have a respectable house for public worship, in the 
northerly part of Taberg. An eflFort was made to procure 
the statistics of this body by a friend residing in the place. 
He reported that its records were lost, and that, on enquiry, 
nothing satisfactory had been gleaned. 



84 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 



CHAPTER IV. 



This is the south-westernmost town in Oneida County. It 
lies in an elevated position, and from its bounds waters flow 
to the ocean through the Hudson and St. Lawrence ; and if 
there are no waters which flow from this town to the ocean 
through the Susquehannah. it is but a short distance from 
the southern line of the town to waters which enter the 
ocean through that channel. 

lihis town lies principally upon two high hills, or ridges, 
running nearly north and south upon each side of the Sken • 
andoa Creek. On the side hills, and in some places reaching 
almost to their summits, are inexhaustible beds of limestone. 
This has been extensively quarried for fences and building 
purposes. In some quarries the seams are very regular, 
and no better stone for masonry can be found. From the 
abundance of lime in the soil, winter wheat is cultivated 
more generally than in any other town in the county. 
Although the town lies principally upon two ridges, yet its 
south-east corner extends into the valley of the Oriskany, 
and the village of Oriskany Falls is in this section. In 
general, the soil is excellent, and there is less of swamp in 
the town than in almost an}' other section of equal size in 
the county. Besides a small proportion of hemlock, and a 
very small quantity of cedar, within a short distance north of 
Augusta Centre, the forests of this town were composed of 
those kinds of hard timber common in the county, and de- 
noting good land for grain. 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 85 

In 1794, Peter Smith, father of Gerrit Smith, leased of 
the Oneida Indians about 60,000 acres, which, in honor of 
his name, was called New Petersburgh. Gerrit Smith 
asserts that this lease was for 999 j-ears ; some of the old- 
est inhabitants, however, are of the opinion that it was for 
but twenty-one years, as they received their leases for that 
period. The pagan party of the Oueidas was opposed to 
the leasing to Mr. Smith, and at one time they proceeded so 
far as to drive the surveyor off from the tract. The south- 
east corner of New Petersburgh was the south-east corner of 
Augusta, aud it extended quite across this town and the 
County of Madison. There was a tract of 1.000 acres, which 
was situated east of Stockbridge, and west of the " Four 
Miles Square," as it was called, aud lying within Smith's 
60.000 acres : this was granted to John Gregg, Sen., John 
Gregg, Jr., and James Alexander, aud was called the 
" School Lot,"' the rent of which was appropriated to the 
education of Indian children. Zaccheus Barber, Charles 
Francis, and Samuel Farrington, reside upon this lot. Riley 
Shepard resides upon the north-west corner lot of the '-Four 
Miles Square" above mentioned. Mr. Smith divided his 
tract into four allotments, the first of which was entirely 
within the town of Augusta. Previous to 1797, most of the. 
lands of this tract in Augusta were leased for twenty-one 
j-ears. In 1 795 and 1 797, acts were passed by the Legislature, 
providing that all who had obtained leases of Smith could 
have patents from the State upon paying the State $3,53 per 
acre, and that Smith should be allowed to retain six lots 
in this town, as part or entire pay for his lease from the 
Indians. The lands thus patented were mortgaged to the 
Btate, to secure the purchase money ; and it is believed that 
one-fourth of the original purchase money is yet unpaid. P. 
»Smitli was born in 1768. of Dutch parentage. In 1795. the 



85 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Oueidas sold to the State a large tract, known in those days 
as the " Oneida Reservation." This purchase included the 
north part of Augusta, and large portions of the towns of 
Vernon and Verona. It was soon surveyed, and was sold 
at Auction in August, 1797. The Indians retained within 
this reservation a tract a mile square, which was eventually 
conveyed to the Northern Missionary Society, and for which 
the Society was to maintain a missionary and teacher among 
the Indians. This tract was located in the following man- 
ner: — A stake was stuck by the side of the spring, about 
sixty rods south-west of the present residence of John Curry, 
which was made the centre of the tract, and from this point 
the mile square was surveyed. The Rev. Samuel Kirkland, 
who came to Oneida in 1766 as a missionary, enjoyed a part 
of the avails of this lot after it was conveyed ; and in 1809, 
after the death of Mr. Kirkland, the Society employed a Mr. 
Jenkins as a missionary among the Indians. His services 
V;^8re acceptable to but a very small number of the Indian.^, 
and he became discouraged, and left. The Indians have 
mice sought further compensation for the land they had 
conveyed to the Society ; but its acting members declared 
that they had been ready to fulfil upon their part, and as the 
land had been disposed of by the Society in good faith, they 
saw no violation of Christian principles in their course. The 
author knows nothing of the merits of this controversy, biit 
is entirely satisfied that if all the dealings of those professedly 
Christians had been conducted upon "Christian principles,"' 
the efforts of the missionaries of the cross would have been 
attended with much happier results among these benighted 
children of the forest. Two hundred and forty acres of this 
tract were patented to Israel Chappin, being the lots upon 
which Lemuel Smith and Mr. Murray settled, and the re- 
mainder was patented directly to the Society. 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 



87 



nnST SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN, AND FIRST SETTLERS. 

A man named Gunn built the first habitation for white 
persons in Augusta, iu 1793, which stood not far from where 
Peter Stebbins now i-esides. Benjamin Warren built the 
second, upon the precise location upon which his house now 
stands. David Morton built upon the place upon which the 
Rev. Sheldon Smith now resides ; and John Alden com- 
menced a clearing in the same year upon the south lot upon 
the north and south road which passes through the centre of 
the town. 

Upon the 17th of August, in this year, Ichabod Stafi'ord, 
Joseph and Abraham Forbes, and their families, took up their 
residences upon the east hill in this town. Mr. Staiford 
'took up" the lot upon which Truman Cole resides, and the 
Forbes took up the lots adjoining and south of Stafi'ord. 
Some of these slept upon their cart the first night they 
resided in Augusta. In 1794, Isaac and Benjamin Allen 
.fettled upon the farm upon which Isaac Allen resides ; and 
Amos Parker, who had occupied a farm upon the Brotherton 
Tract for two years, removed to the place where he died. 
He was a brave soldier for his country, and lived and died 
an eminently active and devoted Christian. Upon one oc- 
casion, while serving in the army of the Revolution, he saved 
the life of La Fayette by disobeying orders. La Fayette 
ordered an intrenchment, which was protected by palisades 
and abattis, to be carried by storm.* For this purpose, he 
selected a forlorn hope of twenty-five men, armed with 

* The author presumes that this was one of the redoubts stormed 
*t the siege of Yorktown. La Faj'ette commanded tlic Americans, 
wlio stormed one, while, to excite emulation, a division of French 
iroops stormed the other. 



88 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COITNTY. [CIIAF. 

muskets, and also with axes, for the purpose of removing the 
abattis and palisades. Mr. Parker was one of this part}', 
and marched by the side of La Fayette. They cleared the 
way to the palisades, and Parker struck one of the pickets 
with his axe, intending to sever it at a blow, but his instru- 
men-t was too dull to produce that effect, even by a second 
blow. Putting his hand to the top of the post, by the helj> 
of his brawny arm it was so loosened that, by a well-directed 
effort, it was drawn fi'om its position, and then another and 
another shared the same fate in quick succession. Upon 
the removal of the third, La Fayette exclaimed, '• That will 
do, my boy," and passed through the breach, followed by 
Parker, to the works thrown up by the enemj-. Within 
were the enemy, opposing their entrance, while friends were 
pressing in their rear. Death to his beloved General now 
seemed inevitable. Their orders were not to fire, under 
pain of death, until the word was given ; yet Parker, j^refer- 
ring the chance of losing his life by the sentence of a court 
martial, to seeing his commanding officer sacrificed, drew up 
his trusty musket, and fired. This made an opening, through 
which he rushed, followed by La Fayette, into the intreuch- 
ment, and with the butt end of his musket he soon made a 
lodgment for himself and comrades, and the fortress was 
taken. After the transaction, he was arraigned before a 
court martial, and tried for disobedience of orders ; but it 
was so evident that his disobedience had been the means of 
saving the life of La Fayette, and crowning the expedttion 
with success, that he was acquitted. In 1824, when La 
Fayette, the '-Nation's Guest,-' was at Utica, the old soldier 
called at his room, and although some were disposed to de- 
prive him of admission, he persisted, and obtained an en- 
trance. He offered his hand, and gave his name, but his old 
commander, not recognizing him, requested him to relate 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 89 

some circumstance by which he might call him to mind. 
Mr. Parker mentioned the above occurrence, when they, who 
more than forty years before had undauntedly shared danger 
no imminent, now wept, like Joseph and Benjamin, upon 
each other's neck. 

Mr. Parker, because the tallest man in the army, stood 
upon the right of the American troops when Cornwallis sur- 
rendered. As a conqueror he also met death when it came. 

In 1794, Thomas Cassety came to the Falls of the Oris- 
kany, and built a log house, and commenced preparations 
for building a saw mill. Ozias Hart, Abel Prior, Thomas 
Spafford, Ezra Saston, Abiel Lindsley, and Francis O'Toole, 
removed into the town this year. 

Francis O'Toole was an educated Irishman, and was im- 
pressed into the service of England while on his way to 
France to complete his education. He was in a number of 
desperate battles, and, after three years, was landed in Bos- 
ton, without money or friends. He travelled over the 
country some four or five years in search of a home. The 
following narrative was related substantially to a friend by 
Mr. O'Toole: — 

"After he had landed in Boston, he went to Hartford, 
Conn., where he hired to Col. Thomas Seymour, with whom 
he lived two years. Frank had the fortune soon to ingra- 
tiate himself into favor with the Colonel and his lady. For 
the first year he passed only as a wild, unlettered Irishman. 
Upon one occasion, Mrs. Seymour kindly profiered her ser- 
vices to teach him to read. Frank, with the greatest possible 
nonchalance depicted upon his countenance, gravely told her 
he thought himself now too old to commence an education. 
His benevolent employers were not undeceived as to his 
knowledge of letters until his second year's service, and he 
was then detected as follows: — Col. S. had a son, by tha 



90 ANNALS OF OXEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr. 

name of Ricliavd, pursuing his studies in Yale College. 
Being at home during his vacation, he •wished to excite some 
wonder among the servants in the kitchen by a display of 
his learning, by "spouting" a sentence in Latin. This 
pedantry threw poor Frank off his guard, and Kichard wa.'^ 
retorted upon severely iu the same language. This was 
overheard by Mrs. S. in an adjoining room, who soon made 
her appearance, and told her son she thought he would bo 
be very much improved by a ftirthcr acquaintance iu the 
kitchen. The news soon spread that Col. Se3anour's wild 
Irishman was liberally educated, and he who had been onl}' 
greeted with the epithets of Pat and Paddy, was now ad- 
dressed as Mr. O'Toole." 

In coming to this town, Mr. O'Toole followed the old 
Indian path, and upon arriving at the spring near where he 
built his house, was so well pleased with the place, that he 
resolved to nuike it his residence, if he could obtain it. This 
he was so fortunate as to accomplish, and located himself 
here in 1794, and remained until he was removed to his la.st 
resting place, February 23, 1842, at the age of ninet}'. lie 
left a son, who is an Attorney-at-Law in Albany, and also 
a number of daughters, who are enterprising and highly 
respectable, and three of whom reside in Home. 

In 1795, Mr. Cassety completed his saw mill at the Falls. 
Lemuel Hart and J. Reynolds came into the town this year. 

In the autumn of 1796, a grist mill was so nearly com- 
pleted, that the inhabitants were not all compelled to go 
either to Clinton, Westmoreland, or i\Iadison to mill. Pre- 
vious to this time, it was not an unfrequent occurrence for 
the inhabitants, for lack of beasts of burden, to carry their 
grain to those places upon their backs. A grist mill was 
built at Fishville, in 1808, by Charles Fish and Benjamin 
Gregg. In 1 809 one was erected at the Centre, by Josiah 
Bartholomew and Eleazar Metcalf. 



7V.] AUGUSTA. 91 

Abraliam and Alexander Holmes resided upon the east 
iilU this year. Oliver Bartholomew, Deacon Philip Pond, 
William Martin, Stephen Crosby, Archibald and John Man- 
chester, Robert Worden, and John Goodhue, were also 
residents of the town this year. 

In 1797, an effort was made in the Legislature to organize 
this town. The bill passed the Assembly, but when reached 
i« the Senate, Samuel Jones, then a Senator from the south- 
ern district, and who was the first State Comptroller, arose 
and asked, " What Avill they do for town officers ? for the 
law declares they must be freeholders." This defeated the 
bill, for Peter Smith's land was then yet held by leases for 
twenty-one years, and the Oneida Reservation had not been 

In tiie spring of this year, five families came in company 
from Washington, Litchfield County, Conn., of whose num- 
ber were Robert Durkee, Newton Smith, Joseph Hurd, and 
Sheldon Parmalee. Benjamin and Joseph Durkee, in the 
course of the year, followed from the same town. They all 
settled upon the road running soutli from the Centre, and 
which was called "Washington street." Previous to the 
arrival of these settlers, there was no road from Michael 
llinman's, where George L. Brigham now resides, to the 
Centre. 

An election was held this year, while the territory of 
this town was included in Whitestown, Herkimer County, 
at the public house of Charles Putnam, upon the hill east of 
Harvey Putnam's pi'esent residence. 

This town was organized in 1798. The name of Augusta 
was given in consequence of a promise of Gen. Augustus 
Van Horn to Thomas Cassety, who Avas now a Colonel in 
the militia, that if the Colonel would procure the town to be 
named after him, he would give him a new military hat. 



92 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

The name so nearly resembled the General's, that the 
Colonel received the promised "hat." 

By the act organising the town, the first town meeting 
was to be held at the house of Timothy Pond, Jr. The first 
meeting was held agreeably to the Legislative appointment, 
and Thomas Cassety was elected Supervisor, and Joseph 
Durkee Town Clerk. Col. Cassety, from his education and 
talents, became a leading spirit in those days. Mr. Durkee 
held the ofiice of Clerk twenty-four successive years, and of 
the nineteen men elected to ofiice at this meeting, he is the 
only one who yet resides in town. But one other is known 
living, Oliver Bartholomew, who resides near AYatertown. 
Col. Cassety was a Justice of the Peace for Herkimer County, 
for we learn of his having solemnized marriages while this 
territory belonged to that county. He administered the 
oath of ofiice as Supervisor to himself, as appears by the 
records, and certified that the oath was taken before himself 
Perhaps a part of this irregularity arose from the fact that 
the oaths of all town ofiicers were recorded in the town 
book, and subscribed by themselves. In newly settled towns, 
many irregularities had to be overlooked. The statutes of 
those days required the oaths of town officers to be taken 
before a Justice of the Peace, or other proper officer, without 
fee or reward ; and it is believed that Col. Cassety was the 
only person authorized to administer oaths within the limits 
of the town. The first election of Justice of the Peace by 
the people in town meeting, was that of Nathan Kimball, in 
1830 : but Justices were elected previous to that year at 
general elections, under the amendment to the Constitution 
adopted in 1 826, but which the town records do not show. 
Esquire Kimball, who is yet living, has since held the office 
of County Judge. The town meetings were held regularly 
up to 1802. In 1801 the town meeting adjourned, to meet 



I'v.] AUGUSTA. 93 

the next year at tlie house of Seth Holmes, who resided 
upon the west side of the road ascending the hill from the 
south at Vernon Centre. This venerable mansion is yet 
standing, although much gone to decay, and uninhabited. 
The meeting failed, for before the time appointed, the town 
of Vernon had been erected, leaving the house of Mr. 
Holmes in the latter town. Accordingly, three Justices of 
the Peace appointed the town officers for 1802. In 1805, a 
Town House was built at the Centre, in which the town 
meetings have since been held. It has been twice removed 
to different locations, the last time to the Centre, in 1842, 
when it was repaired at the expense of the town. 

The first merchant was a Mr. Adams, who kept his goods 
in the house of Ichabod Stafford, in 1798. He built, or 
ratlier raised and covered, a building for a store in that 
vicinity, but failed before he had filled it with goods. Mr. 
Smith "sold goods" near the present residence of Christopher 
Stebbitts, but committed some crime, for which he was sen- 
tenced to State's Prison. Elisha Carrington established 
himself as a merchant at ;vn early period at Newell's Cor- 
ners, but he soon removed to Peterboro. Abel Lindsley 
traded at a very early period at the place now occupied by 
Cyrus Barber. Samuel Chandler came into the town and 
engaged in business with Mr. Lindsley, some five or six 
years before he commenced business with his brother. This 
firm failed, and Winthrop H. Chandler, after some delay, 
entered into business with his brother Samuel, in 1806. 
This firm, under the name of Samuel Chandler & Co., 
became one of the most respectable mercantile establish- 
ments in the county, and the brothers long enjoyed the con- 
fidence of the community. 

They were both, at different times, elected Supervisors of 
the town, and Winthrop H. represented the county in the 



94 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAf. 

Assembly. Winthrop H. did not become ati actual resident 
of Augusta until May, 1808, and the two continued the 
business uutil 1818, when Samuel died. Winthrop H. con- 
tinued the business until Feb. 24, 1835, when his store was 
destroyed by fire. This was the most disastrous blow to the 
prosperity of Augusta Centre that has ever happened. John 
J. Knox settled in Augusta in 1811. He has been exten- 
sively engaged in mercantile operations, and the purchasing 
of produce, up to the present time. He was for a time 
President of the Bank of Vernon. Knox's Corners is a 
place of considerable business. 

Two citizens of this town have assisted in electing Prcsi- 
sidents. David Ambler was a member of Assembly when 
the electors were chosen by that body, who elected James- 
Monroe. John J. Knox was an elector when W. H. Har- 
rison was elected. While in the Assembly, Mr. Ambler 
voted for the construction of the Erie Canal, a measure of 
vast importance, and which has fully shown the far-seeing^ 
wisdom of its supporters. 

W. H, Chandler, Riley Shepard, and David Murray, 
have been members of the Assembly. Chauncy C. Cook, a 
native of this town, was a member of Assembly from Kirk- 
land in 1845. 

The first white child born in Augusta, was Peter Smith 
(junn. The first persons married in the town, were Daniel 
Hart and Catharine Putnam. Col. Cassety officiated upon 
the occasion. The oldest native now residing in this town, 
is Mrs. Margaret Mahanny, daughter of Francis O'Toole. 
The first death in the town was that of Eleazar Putnam, 
who died April 15, 1795, aged 31 years. He lived upon the 
east hill; and as a number of families of that name had 
located near together, that section of the hill was known to 
the early settlers as Put's Hill. The next death of an adult 



IV.] AUGUSTA, 9& 

was that of Lucy Greene, who died in March, 179G. Age 
not ascertained. Two deaths of children occurred in thi* 
town at an early period, one a child of Ozias Hart, the other 
of John Porter, but which died first can not now be ascer- 
tained. They were first buried near where Herman Parker 
resides ; but the ground proving unsuitable, they were after- 
wards removed to the present burying ground, south of 
David Stilson's. This ground was originally given for tliat 
purpose by John Porter, and was enlarged, newly fenced, 
and beautified in 1845. There are four clergymen buried 
in it : the Rev. Amos Crocker, whose grave is lost, and Rev, 
Simon Snow, whose epitaph is, — 

" With Heavenly weapons I Lave fought 
The Battles of the Lord, 
Finished my course, and kept the faith, 
And wait a sure reward." 

The Rev. A. P. Clark, and the Rev. John Ormsbee. 

During the nine years preceding September 1847, there 
were 247 deaths in the town. The annual proportion is one 
in 76,2. The greatest number in a year, 42 ; least number,. 
19. Population, 2,271. 

There have been four deaths by fire-arms, where the de- 
sign to shoot, if not to kill, was shown. Mr. Major Wood, 
who lived upon the east hill, was shot by a woman who 
lived with him as wife. He had served in the continental 
army, and this woman came from the army with him. She 
was intemperate, and had been to an election the day pre- 
ceding the commission of the deed, and was intoxicated at 
the time. Little was known of the circumstances, or how 
much of malice or design were manifested by the act. She 
was tried, convicted of murder, and sentenced to be hung, 
and her body given to the surgeons. In the night preceding 



96 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

the day of execution, she hung herself in the jail at Herki- 
mer. At the time, it was the opinion of many that she was 
induced to commit suicide by the belief that thereby she 
would evade the last part of her sentence, and save her body 
from the dissecting knife. If this was so, she failed in her 
object, for her remains were used for the promotion of pro- 
fessional science. (See section upon Capital Convictions, 
pp. 42, 43, for particulars of her trial.) 

Theophilus Fowler, an Indian, shot Ethan Wiggins, an- 
other Indian. They, with others, had been on a squirrel 
• hunt for two or three days. Coming into the neighborhood 
of the distillery, Wiggins went into the shoe shop of Charles 
Stiles, an upper room of the house now occupied by David 
Fish, and Fowler went to the distillery and obtained some- 
thing to drink. Very soon Fowler took his gun and went 
rapidly up the street, until opposite the shoe shop. Wiggins 
was looking out of the window, and Fowler, without giving 
any notice of his intentions, drew up and fired. Wiggins 
fell, one shot having entered his eye, and was immediately 
■carried to Brotherton, where he survived but about three 
days. 

After the Revolutionary war, the Oneida Indians who 
resided at Oriskany, left that location, and a part came to 
the "Mile Square," in the neighborhood of the present 
residence of John Curry. This location had long before 
been occupied by Indians. Mr. Philo White was of the 
opinion that when the Oneida Indians left Oriskany, a part 
of them went to Canesaraga. After the settlement of 
Augusta, a number of those Indians yet remained upon the 
"Mile Square." Cornelius was their head man, and he had 
a son-in-law named Jacob. Jacob arid another Indian, 
whose name can not now bo ascertained, went to Clinton, 
where they obtained liquor. While upon their return, thev 



IV.] ATJ&tSTA. 97 

had a quarrel, and attliougli Jacob was much the smaller 
man, yet, as is believed, from the fact that he was less drunk , 
he obtained the advantage in the fight. Upon arriving 
at their settlement, they first came to the home of the larger 
Indian. The latter went into his wigwam, and obtaining 
liis rifle, came 'to the door, and shot Jacob, who fell dead 
lie then dragged the body into the woods, and made an 
attempt to conceal it. The next morning, Jacob not having 
arrived at his home, his father-in-law, Cornelius, started 
to search for him. When he arrived at the place in the road 
where Jacob had been shot, his practised eye discovered 
blood, and with true Indian sagacity, he traced its trail 
into the woods, and found the body. Fi'Om the circumstan- 
ces, he at once knew who was the murderer. Standing in 
the relation of the -avenger of blood," according to th'.> 
Indian laws, he immediately proceeded to the cabin of the 
murderer, burst open the door, and with his ever ready knife, 
gave, as he supposed, the fatal stab. By means of " Cc^ves- . 
dropping,'' a few evenings afterwards, he ascertained that 
his aim had not been true, and that the murderer was re- 
covering from his wound. Cornelius then went to Hendrick 
Smith, his nephew, who resided at the Indian Orchard, and 
who was also from Oriskany, and borrowed his brass hatchet, 
with a steel edge, and also persuaded Smith to go with him. 
They started, and ran without once halting, until they ar- 
rived at the cabin door of their victim. Cornelius burst open 
the door, and finding the object of their vengeance upon his 
bed, without uttering a word, caught him by the hair, and 
with one blow of the tomahawk cleft open his head. Not 
knowing in what light the matter might be viewed by the 
friends at Oneida, of the Indian whom they had executed. 
Cornelius and Smith thought it prudent to leave the place 
until the excitement, if any, had subsided. They therefore 

7 



98 AKNALS OF ONEIDA COU.N-n'. [(JHAP. 

wcat south into the Chenango country, and remained until 
they learned that the friends of the murderer were satisfied 
that his punishment was merited and just, and were not dis- 
posed to take any notice of it, or his executioners, when they 
returned. 

The author is aware that there is some skepticism in re- 
lation to this transaction. His informant was the Hon 
Aaron Stafford, of Water A'ille, who is a son of the Ichabod 
Stafford who settled in Augusta in 1793, He resided with 
his father at the time, and but a short distance south front 
where it took place. Although he was not an eye-witness, 
yet he well recollects the affair, and that the next morning 
after the murder, Jacob's wife, with a very young infant, 
came to his father's, accompanied by her mother, the wife 
of Cornelius, and of their talking of the subject, and weeping 
bitterly. He also well recollects having seen the brass^ 
hatchet, with steel edge, belonging to Hendrick Smith, with 
which it was said the Indian was executed ; and also remem- 
bers the absence of Cornelius and Hendrick. Those ac- 
quainted with the tenacity of Mr. Stafford's memor}-. will 
hardly doubt the correctness of his statements. 

Another instance of death frona fire-arms, was that in 
which Thomas Grinnell, accidentally, shot himself in the 
arm, near the shoulder. He survived the accident but about 
a week. 

Timothy Eanney was accidental!}'- shot by his cousin, 
Silas Cook, on Sunday, the lOth of April, 1810. Eiley 
Shepard and Timothy Kanney, were sitting near each other, 
reading alternately a verse from tlie Bible, and if the charge 
had possessed sufficient force to have passed through Mr 
llanney's head, Shepard would have shared the fate of hi> 
cousiu. 

At the Falls, Mr. Cady shot Mi'. Gardner, who was acting 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 09 

llie part of a military officer, by giving him tlie word of com- 
mand. There had been a training the day previous, and 
Cady was not aware that the gun was loaded. 

Orrin S. Cook, son ■c-f Josiah Cook, was killed by the 
falling of a tree, Oct. 22, 1818. 

Terence Fagan was killed July 12, 1838, by falling from 
his wagon, and the horses stopping with one of the wheel? 
resting upon his neck. His death occurred in Stockbridge. 
but he was a resident of Augusta. 

Roswell J. Lewis, of this town, was killed at Oneida 
Castle, -on the 22d of May, 1842, by being run over while 
attempting to stop his own and E. Wooster's horses v^hile 
running. After the accident, he survived but about twenty- 
four hours. Says his obituary : "Within the recollection of 
our oldest citizens, death has not entered our town under so 
painful a shape, and attended by such a variety of distressing 
particulars, as in this instance." 

In 1834, a sum of about $2,100 was raised for the pur- 
pose of an Academical School at the Centre. A very com- 
modious stone building was soon erected, and a school went 
into successful operation. In 1840, the sum of 8400 wa.s 
raised for a library and philosophical apparatus, and the 
Academy was incorporated. The form of the building is 
peculiar, at least it is so for Central New York. Tlie front 
i.s a regular semicircle, while the rear wall is straight. The 
teachers in this Institution have been, Melville Adams, 
Rev. Benjamin Lockwood, Robert Bradshaw, J. Manross, 
Hewitt Bronson, G. L. Ilall, Rev. Samuel Whaley, A. K. 
Eaton, C. Percival. Mr. Hall taught successfully during 
seven years. 

This town, like Vernon, was settled by very many from 
Litchfield County, Conn. At this time, eighteen of the 
forfey-eight families who reside upon the road which runs 



100 ANNALS OF ONEmA COUNTY. [cHAP, 

liorth and south through the Centre, were from that county, 
or are the immediate descendants of such. The town of Otis, 
in Berkshire County, Mass., at one time had many repre- 
sentatives in Augusta. 

Josiah Cook, grandfather of Chauncy C. Cook, of Clinton, 
attended a half century celebration at the Centre in 1847. 
He came from Otis to this town in 1799, with thirteen chil- 
dren, all of whom, with a single exception, settled with 
families in Augusta. His descendants, on the 7th of Sep- 
tember, 1847, numbered 250. 

Abner Ranney, who died September 1st, 1847, aged 101 
years, 5 months, and 5 days, came from Blandford, Hamp- 
den County, a town adjoining Otis, had twelve children, 
nghty-seven grandchildren, and eighty great-grandchildren. 
These two patriarchs settled upon opposite sides of the same 
■treet. 

Knox's Corners at one time went by the name of Cook's 
Corners. 

Elisha Shephard, an old resident of this town, and who 
was in the battle of Stone Arabia, upon the Mohawk, on the 
19th of October, 1780, in which Col. Brown, the commander, 
and about forty out of two hundred soldiers, were killed, 
related a fact which the author has never seen noticed in any 
account of the aborigines. Mr. Shephard states that none of 
the red-haired persons who fell in the battle were scalped, 
while no others escaped the horrid mutilation. 

In 1795, Mr. J. Reynolds, while looking for his cows, 
accompanied by his dog, treed a bear, when about sixty 
rods south-west of Ozias Hart's. Being within hailing dis- 
tance, he called to Hart to come with his gun, and shoot the 
bear. Mr. Hart misunderstood the request, supposing the 
bear had treed Reynolds. Although he had a gun well 
loaded, and one or two dogs, he went in search of his brother 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 101 

tliat he might have his assistance in relieving his neighbor 
from his perilous situation. Mr. Reynolds becoming im- 
patient, went to Hart's, believing the dog would keep pos- 
■session ; but in this he was mistaken, for the dog also left, 
and before the arrival of Reynolds or the Harts, the animal 
had decamped, and made good his retreat. The anecdote 
does no very great credit to the courage of Ozias Hart or 
the dog. 

Another "bear story" is also told by the "oldest inhabit- 
ants.'"' As Thomas Spafford was going to meeting one Sun- 
day, at the house of Ichabo'd Stafford, and when about half 
way from the Centre to Stafford's, he discovered a large bear 
following him. For a time he pursued his way quietly. 
hoping the animal would soon leave the path, but in this he 
was mistaken, for the animal gained fast upon him. Ho 
now attempted to frighten it from its course, but without 
success. The bear at length having come so near, and its 
company being so unwelcome, Spafford left the path, and 
ascended a small hemlock, arid by the time he was fairly out 
of reach, the animal was at the roots of the tree. Thus un- 
pleasantly situated, and wishing to get a higher, and perhaps 
easier position, Stafford unluckily took hold of a dry limb, 
which broke, and he fell. Bruin, doubtless thinking as 
Spafford "came tumbling down," that he was "come for," 
suddenly left, while the latter pursued his way without fur- 
ther molestation. 

Oriskany Falls is a flourishing village, in the south-west 
part of the town. The fall of the Oriskany Creek at this 
place is so considerable, that a large amount of water power is 
obtained. In its descent, the water is carried over a ledge 
of limestone, at an angle of about 45 degrees. There are a 
grist and flouring mill, two saw mills, two woolen factories, 
besides some smaller machinery ; and the water power is 



102 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAP- 

such as to admit a vast increase of business. The village 
contains about six hundred inhabitants, two taverns, two 
dry goods and two grocery stores, three storehouses, two cab- 
inet and chair factories, and most kind of mechanic shopi-. 
The Chenango Canal, and '-Hamilton and Deansville Plank 
Koad," jjass through this place. There is an inexhaustible 
tjuarry of limestone in and near the village, large quantities 
of which are quarried for building purposes and for lime, and 
transported upon the canal to different parts of the country. 
The Congregational Church is of stone, of good size, and is a 
substantial edifice. 

Augusta Centre has three places of public worship, — a 
Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist, those of Presbyterians 
and Baptists with steeples. They are all painted, and are 
well-arranged, good buildings. The Academy at this place 
has been noticed. There are a tavern, one dry goods store, 
a grist and flouring mill, with the various mechanic shops 
usual in country villages. 

Tliere are four grist mills and six saw mills in the town. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 



The first sermon preached within the present limits of the 
town, was by a Methodist minister, in 1794, in the house of a 
Mr. Fairbanks, upon the place now occupied by Mrs. Camp 
Williams. Possibly there may have been preaching pre- 
viously by some missionary, but if so, it is not within the 
knowledge of any one now living in the town. 

The widow of Ichabod Stafford, who is now quite aged, 
and resides in the village of Waterville, informed the writer 
that a Baptist Church was formed very early in the settle- 
ment of the town, in the vicinity of her residence upon tlic 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 103 

east hill, of wliicli Blie was a member. It was dissolved after 
a few years, and uo records respecting it have been found. 

In 1797, a log school-house stood upon the west side of 
the road which runs north from William Bridge's. In that 
school-house, on the 7th of September of that year, the 
present Congregational Church was formed, with nine mem- 
bers, by Rev. Doct. Asahel S. Norton, of Clinton, and Piev. 
Joel Bradly, of Westmoreland. The church was organized 
in the morning, and Rev. iNIr. Bradly preached in the after' 
noon. The names of the first members were Isaiah Gilbert, 
Experience Gilbert, Benjamin Durkee, Susanna Durkeo, 
Thomas Stafford, Lucy Stafford, Ezra Saxton, Abiel Linsley, 
and Anna Linsley. Mr. Linsley was the first moderator. 

After the formation of the church, its members continued 
to meet upon the Lord's-day in private dwellings, <-'chool- 
houses, barns, and sometimes in the open air, for conference 
and prayer, and occasionally had preaching, by Dr. Norton 
and Rev. Mr. Kirkland, and sometimes others were employed 
for a few weeks, or perhaps months. 

In 18O0, the church numbered but t^ixteen, having ra- 
ceived seven by letter, and two by profession. 

In 1804, £lev. J<;>hn Spcaicer commenced preaching to this 
people. He was a native of Connecticut, and had enjoyed 
l3ut the privileges of a common school education. At the 
close of the Revolutionary war, in which he served as a 
soldier, he came to Worcester, Dtsego County. He was a 
plain, unassuming man, but contemplating the moral deeola- 
tion around him. and tlxe paucity of laborers, he desired to 
enter the ministry. He was encouraged, and licensed to 
preach in October, 1800. _ He spent two or three years in 
•the County of Greene, and afterwards in the County ot 
•ffineida, and removed from Vernon Centre to Augusta. The 
elder class of the people, speak of him with affection. He 



i.04 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF 

left this plaee iu 1S07, and in 18Q9 removed to the thexc 
almost unbroken wilderness, hut now the town of Sheridan, 
in Chatauque County. His praise as a missionary, was iu 
many churches. A monument, bearing the following in- 
scription, marks his grave in the burying place in Sheridan 

" This stone is consecrated to tlie memory of Bev. John 
Si>encer, many years a missionary of the Connecticut iMis- 
sionary Society. He was the first Gospel minister who 
traversed ths wilderness then called the Holland Purchase, 
and was the instrument, under God, in forming most of the 
Congregational and Pre&byterian Churches which existed in 
this region when he rested fvom his labors, 1826, aged 68. 

'• He trod a useful but laborious path to imanortality, in 
the ardent, unremitted exercise of doing good. 

'• The Association of Western New York, grateful to his 
memory, have erected this monument, hoping that it may 
prompt the beholder to iniitate his self-denying labors. 
1838," 

Says ]\Ir. Ayer: "From the tiuie of Mr. Spencer's re- 
moval until October 15, 1809, the church appears to have 
been in the wilderness in tumults, like sheep without a. 
shepherd, going astray. At that time the church called the 
Eev. David Kendall, of Hubbardston, Mass., to take the 
pastoral charge, which was accepted, and he was installed 
May 2, 1810. Mr. Kendall was dismissed, August 11,1814. 
During his ministry, twelve were received by profession, and 
two by letter. 

The Rev. Oliver Ayer commenced his labors .witli this- 
church in October, 1814, and was installed January 10th, 
1816, the E,ev. Dr. Azel Backus preaching upon the occa- 
sion, from Hebrews x. 25. Mr. Ayer continued his labors 
with the church about four years. These are reckoned as- 
the four most prosperous years which, this body ever ex- 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 105 

pcrienccd in succession. Two years of the time witnessed a 
revival, iu which the church, numbering at their commence- 
ment but forty-eight members, received accessions of one 
hundred and sixty. 

Mr. Ayer's health having failed, the liev Ely Burehard 
commenced his labors with this church in January, 1818. 
Mr. Ayer was not dismissed until Feb. 3, 1819, and the 
council that dismissed him, ordained and installed Mr. Bur- 
chard the next day. The church enjoyed the labors of the 
latter four years and eight months, and was increased during 
his ministry by the addition of forty-four upon profession, 
and fourteen by letter. He was dismissed Oct. 15, 1822. 

The liev. Benjamin J. Lane commenced his labors, as 
stated supply, a few weeks after the dismissal of Mr. Bur- 
chard, and continued them about four years. In the early 
part of this period there was an interesting revival, and 
during the four years of his labors, sixty-five were received 
ujion profession, and fourteen by letter. The Rev. Leverctt 
Hull immediately succeeded Mr. Lane, and like his prede- 
cessor, was not installed. He continued four years, and 
received about one hundred upon profession of faith. The 
first protracted meeting in Augusta was held during the 
ministry of Mr. Hull. The revival, which was the result of 
this meeting, or at least the measures and means adopted^ 
were condemned by some as extravagant. Mr. Hull had 
vyarm and decided friends, while some were as decidedly 
opposed to him. 

The Rev. Mr. Hull was succeeded, for oae year, by Rev. 
John Waters, whose labors were eminently useful In June, 
1831, a protracted meeting was held, in which the Baptists, 
took part ; a revival followed, and, as its fruits, on the 4th 
of September, fifty-three were received upon profession of 
faith, being the largest number ever received at one time by 



iOG ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF. 

this church. On the 25th of November, 1832, the church 
reached its highest point in numbers, having at that time 
precisely four hundred members. 

In January, 1838, thirty-five members received letters ot 
dismission, for the purpose of forming a church at Oriskanv 
Falls. 

After the trial of many candidates, Rev. X. P. Clark -was 
called to the pastoral office, September 13. 1833, and was 
installed February 12, 1834. He was an excellent pastor 
and man. During the spring or summer following, he had 
the mi.sfortune to break one of his limbs, wbich hindered 
him from his labors a number of months. He died Feb. 
G, 1835, aged 38 years. He was entombed with the people 
of his affection, and his epitaph is, — "Remember the words 
that I spake unto you while I was yet with a'ou." Nothing 
could have been more appropriate. 

A little more than two years of quiet followed, in which 
Mr. Robertson and Mr. Wells supplied the pulpit. 

On the 10th of May, 1836. the present pastor, Rev. Orlo 
]]artholomew commenced his labors, and was installed by 
the Oneida Presbytery on the 24th of the following August. 
There were, upon the church book when he came, 279 mem- 
))ers. Of that number 119 have been dismissed, two have 
been excommunicated, and fifty have died. During this 
time, seventy-one have been received by lettei-, and ninety- 
four by profession of faith, and three who had been absolved, 
have returned, making the whole number received, 168. 
leaving the church three less than when the present pastor 
commenced preaching to them. In the first year of his 
labors, fifteen were added upon profession, the result of a 
protracted meeting, held in connection with the Baptist 
(Church. In the third year, thirty-six were received upon 
profession. Most of these were hopefully converted in the 



JV.] AUGUSTA. 107 

above-mentioned meeting. Elders Smitzer and Parker per- 
formed most of the preaching during the meeting. 

Deacons Abiel Linsley and Isaiah Gilbert officiated for 
the first six or seven years of -the existence of the church. 
They had each held the oifice before they came to Augusta. 
Deacon Linsley, after he left, was the instrument of doing 
much good ; and a letter written by him to his pastor, when 
unable to attend public worship from ill health, was the 
commencement of the means which resulted in the formation 
of the Genesee Missionary Society. In 1804, Amos Gilbert 
and Philip Pond were chcJsen deacons. Lebbeus Camp, 
chosen in 1814, was dismissed in 1833. John Lewis was 
chosen in 1822, Eobert Durkee and Mark Thompson in 
1832, and Eussell Knox in 1834. 

This church has contributed liberally to the benevolent 
objects of the day. In five years, commencing with 1837. 
they gave $4,419 09 to different benevolent Associations. 
From the time of the erection of the town house, in 1805, to 
1816, it was occupied as a meeting house by this Society. 
In 1816 the present house of worship was built, and was 
dedicated Feb. 3, 1817. In 1844, its^ interior v/as re- 
modelled, and it was re-dedicated the same year. 

As early as 1802, there were two Methodist classes in 
Augusta, one of which met in the neighborhood where now 
the Messrs. Powers reside, and the other upon the east hill, 
in the vicinity of which the old chapel stood. This was the 
centre of the denomination in this town for many years, and 
they had often large congregations for the country. The 
old chapel was built by Riley Shepard, in 1819, and was 
regularly occupied until the new chapel was built at the 
Centre, in 1840. The new chapel was dedicated December 
15, 1840, Zachariah Paddock officiating upon the occasion. 
The first service in it after the day of dedication, was upon 



108 AKTNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. _ [CHAP. 

Thanksgiving-day, tlie 17tli of the same month, when the 
Rev. 0. Bartholomew, of the Congregational Church, preach- 
ed from Johnvi. 12: "Gather up the fragments, that nothing 
be lost.'' 

There are now in connection with the Methodist denomi- 
nation at various places in the town, as follows: — At the 
Centre, forty-two ; at the Falls, twenty-one ; at Knox's Cor- 
ners, twenty-three; upon the "Strip," twenty; making 106 
members of the station or circuit. There are twenty of the 
inhabitants of Augusta connected with the Methodist Society 
at Deansville, eighteen with the Society at Vernon Centre, 
and five connected with the Society at Stockbridge. 

The present Baptist Church in Augusta was organized 
August 22, 182Q, with thirty-three members. The first 
meeting for business was held August 30. the same year, 
and their meeting house was dedicated the 20th of the same 
month. These dates may seem paradoxical, but they are in 
accordance with the records and the facts. I* seemed to tlie 
author unusual for a Society to erect a good and convenient 
meeting house, and have it dedicated, before the organization 
of the church ; but upon re-inquiry, he is assured the above 
dates are correct. 

The most extensive revival was in 1831, and which is 
mentioned in the history of the Congregational Church. 
Seventy-six were added to the Baptist Church upon pro-' 
fession, and twelve by letter during its continuance. In 
September, 1833, the number of members was 127, in 1838, 
141. Present number, 85. The preachers to this Church 
have been. Elders P. P. Brown, James A. Mallory, A. H. 
Haft'. Jason Corwin, — . Bridge, — . Jeffries, and E. Z. Wil- 
liams. 

The Congregational Church at Oriskany Falls was organ- 
ized January 31, 1833. Its present number is seventy-fivo, 



IV ] ■ AUGUSTA. 100 

of whom thirty-six reside in Augusta. The^e is but one 
more member of this denomination upon the territory which 
this Church occupies in Augusta, than when formed. The 
walls of their house were erected and enclosed in 1834, and 
the basement so finished that the congregation worshipped in 
it until the building was completed and dedicated, April 9, 
1845. The dedication sermon was preached by the Kev. 0- 
Bartholomew, from 2 Chron. ii. 4. 

The Rev. John Cross labored with this church one year 
previous to the last Lord's-day in Nov. 1834, when the Rev. 
Pindar Field commenced his labors, and was installed by the 
Oneida Association, December 21st, and was dismissed by 
the same on May 26, 1846, a little more than one year after 
the house, for which he had made great personal sacrifices, 
had been dedicated. At the time of his settlement, the 
church consisted of forty-seven members. There were added 
during his ministry ninety-three, forty-one by profession and 
fifty-two by letter. During Mr. Fidel's pastorate, the sum 
of about 8700 was contributed by this Society to the differ-^ 
ent benevolent objects of the day. 



Col. Thomas Cassety.'— The author has not been able to 
ascertain satisfactorily the time of his birth. He was the 
sou of James Cassety, who was a captain in the British 
army, and on service in this country in the French war of 
1756. After the peace of 1760, the captain went to Detroit, 
and established himself as an Indian trader. Here he con- 
tinued until the commencement of the War of the Revolu-' 
tion, when he was ordered to take up arms against the 
colonies. This he refused to do. In the mean time Thomas, 
the subject of this notice, was born, had pursued the usual 



110 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

preparatory course, and was now far advanced in Lis colle- 
giate education. During a vacation, he visited his father at 
Detroit, and while there, an officer of the crown was sent to 
arrest his father for treason, in refusing to fight the battles 
of George III against the colonies. The arrest was made in 
the presence of the son, which so esasperated him, that he 
seized a loaded musket, and fired at the officer. "Whether he 
killed him or not, is, not known, as the Colonel in after life 
would never throw any light upon the subject, further than 
that the ball passed through the officer's hat crown. The 
Captain was taken to Quebec, and for three long years con- 
fined so closely in prison, that in the whole period the sun 
never for once shone upon him. At length, with two others, 
he made his escape. Thomas, after firing at the officer, made 
good his retreat from Detroit, and took refuge with one of 
the western tribes of Indians. Here he was received and 
treated with kindness, was formally adopted into their tribe, 
one of the chiefs of which gave him his daughter for a wife 
By her he had issue ; and tradition has said, whether truly or 
falsely, that '-the celebrated Tecumseh was a son of Thomas 
Cassety.' 

After a residence of several years with the Indians, and 
after our independence had been acknowledged by Britain, 
as he could then return in safety, he left the Indians, and 
again took up his abode in civilized life, and was again mar- 
ried. By this marriage he had seven children, two sons and 
five daughters. The next that is learned of him is, that he 
was residing at Canajoharie. 

The surveyors employed by Peter Smith having been 
driven ofi', as before stated, their compass and chain broken 
to pieces by the pagan party of the Oneidas, Mr. Smith had 
recourse to Mr. Cassety. who was residing at that place, to 
induce him to come to Oneida, and make peace with the 



IV.] AUGUSTA. 1 I { 

ladians. From his thorougk acquaintance with Indian 
character, he was peculiarly fitted for this mission, in which 
he was entirely successful. Mr. Smith, by means of these 
services, was enabled to realize a considerable fortune. 

In 1794, Mr. Cassety removed to the town of Augusta, 
and settled at Oriskany Falls, a location which for many 
years was known only by the name of Cassety Hollow. Here 
he built the mills as before stated, and in erecting the grist 
mill, he and Peter Smith were in company: Soon after its 
completion, Cassety, who was now a Colonel in the militia, 
and Justice of the Peace, purchased of Smith his share, and 
mortgaged his property to Smith to secure the payment of 
the purchase money. Eventually, the foreclosing of this 
mortgage reduced the Colonel from competency to poverty 
The earnings of years of toil and privation were all swept 
away. 

His death was most melancholy. A clothier, in removing 
from his shop, had left, among other articles, a bottle of sul- 
phuric acid. This the Colonel supposed to be whiskey, (a 
poison in most cases just as sure, if not as rapid,) and the 
fatal draught closed his existence in a few hours He died 
August 14, 1831. 

Colonel Cassety had talents of a high order, which had 
been improved by a good education. He was a warm and 
true friend ; generous almost to a fault. The early settlers 
of Augusta often enjoyed his bounty. Upon one occasion, in 
a time of scarcity, he divided among them, gratuitously, all 
the bread-stuffs in his mill, poor as well as rich receiving in 
proportion to the numbers in their families. Unsolicited, 
upon another occasion, he advanced the money to save a poor 
man's cow from being sold upon an execution. lie was a 
wit and humorist. In polished society, he was a gentleman. 
For the amusement of others, he could represent scenes from 



112 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [c'HAp. 

savage life with skill and accuracy. In liis intercourse with 
those in humble life, he could conform to them without 
compromising hi.s dignity of character. He had his faults, 
hut we would let those lie, buried in the same grave, where, 
without monument or epitaph, sleep his remains. 

His father, Capt. James Cassety, died in Augusta, May 
23, 1S2-2, aged 84. 



V.J AVA. 113 



CHAPTER V 



This is the youngest sister in the family of towns in Uneid;!, 
County. It was taken from the west part of Boonville, and 
organized as a town, by an act of Legi.sLature, passed May 
12, 184(3. 

The territory included in this town was first settled by 
Ebenezer Harger. He removed from Connecticut to Whites- 
town in 1797, and to this town in 1798, and settled upon the 
cast branch of the Mohawk, about three-fourths of a mile 
east of the location of the Ava Post Office. Zephaniah 
Wood and Abner Wood settled soon after Mr. Harger. 
Soon after, — and it is believed in 1800, — Philo Harger, 
Kenjamiu Jones, Lemuel Wood, and Justus Beardsley 
moved. into the town. In 1801, Philo Harger and Benjamin 
Jones erected the first saw mill in the town, upon the east 
branch of the JMohawk. At this time, the. few settlers were 
nine miles from any other inhabitants. The nearest grist 
mill was that of Gren. Floyd, at the place since named West- 
ernville. at a distance of twelve miles, without a road, bridges, 
or causeways. For the first few years, these isolated pion- 
eers endured many hardships and privations. Wol-wes, those 
pernicious nuisances of border life, were quite too. numerous, 
and destroyed many of their few sheep and other stock. 

This town occupies an elevated position. Head-waters 
of the ^Moliawk, Black River, and Fi.sh Creek emanating 

S 



114 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

from it. It is much better adapted to grazing than grain , 
and products of the dairy are fast becoming the staple 
of export from the town. Indeed, it is beliered that when 
its forests are relieved of their lumber, and its population 
become farmers only, that then its surplus butter and cheese 
will render Ara equal in wealth to any of the adjoining 
towns. 

The town is well watered, and has an abundant water 
power. The east and west branches of the Mohawk, Point 
Rock Brook, and Blue Brook run through the town, and 
Fish Creek bounds the west end of the town. There are in 
the town one grist mill, and eight saw mills. The water is 
pure, and its numerous waters are yet well stored with the 
'•speckled trout.'' 

Horace Hoyt, Esq., who has been Supervisor of the town 
two. years since its erection, is its only merchant. Besides 
the legitimate business of a country store, he deals largely in 
lumber. In 1848, he sold at least fifteen hundred thousand 
spruce shingles. He is also engaged in the manufacture of 
potash. 

A Society of Friends, who have a house for public wor- 
ship, is the only religious society in the town, although there 
, are within its limits a resident Methodist preacher, and mem- 
bers of other denominations of Christians. 

There is also a physician located in the town, and he, with 
the clergyman, are the only professional men within its 
bounds. 

The Common Schools of this town are well sustained by 
its inhabitants. Each year since its organization, they have 
voted to raise a larger sum by taxation, than that received 
from the income of the State Common School Fund ; and in 
this they have surpassed a majority of the towns in the 
county. 



V.J • AVA. 115 

The town has also a School Fund of between three and 
four hundred dollars, the income of which is also applied to 
the support of education. This fund was derived from a 
division of the poor fund of the town of Boonville, when this 
town was taken from it. 

The soil is a gravelly loam, with little or no clay. Good 
stone for building purposes is abundant. 

Within the town is a small lake, or pond, of some sixty 
or seventy acres in extent. The water is very clear and 
pure, and in some places seventy feet in d6pth, and still it 
has no visible inlet or outlet. 

There is another small pond, of two or three acres, in tlie 
vicinity of Point Rock Brook. 

The old French Road leading from Fort Stanwix to Car- 
thage, passed through this town, and some portions of which 
can still be traced. This was probably the route taken by 
M. De Lery, when he and his command surprised and took 
Fort Bull, as mentioned in the history of Rome, Chap. XIX. 

Besides those mentioned as first settlers, Messrs. Bates, 
Barnard, Fanning, Adam.s, Mitchell, Beck, and Tiffany were 
pioneers in the settlement of Ava. 

Many Germans have located in the north part of this 
town, and they are a hardy, industrious, and frugal class of 
citizens. 

Henry Capron was the first Supervisor, which office' he 
again holds this year (1850 ) 



116 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. fcHAF- 



CHAPTER VI 

BOONVILLE. 

In the Introductory Chapter, it will be perceived that (lu 
territory embraced within the limits of this town, was in- 
cluded in 1788 in the town of Whitestown, in 1?92 in Steu- 
ben, and in 1797 in Leyden, in which town it remained until 
1805, when the town of Boonville was formed. Mr. Boon, 
the acting agent of the Holland Company, had proposed the 
name Kortenaer, — that of a distinguished individual ot 
Holland, — but it seems that it was decided that the town 
should bear up the name of its patron. While this town and 
Leyden were united, Kortenaer (as Boonville was then called) 
took the lion's share, for nearly all the town meetings were 
held within its limits ; and during the eight years of their 
connection, Andrew Edmonds, at whose house their tirst 
town meeting was held, was twice elected Supervisor, and 
the brothers Phineas and Silas Southwell were elected 
several times to the same office. 

The first settler of the territory now included in Boonville. 
was Andrew Edmunds, who removed there in the spring of 
1795. He, was agent for Mr. Boon, or, more properly, for 
the Holland Company, and a number of men were in his 
employ or under his direction. During this season they 
erected a saw mill, and made other preparations for the 
commencement of the settlement. A grist mill was also 
commenced, and the boards sawed, but in kiln-drying the 



Tl] EOOm'ILLE. 117 

boards, so that tliey could be worked, tlicy unluckily took 
fire, aod were all consumed. This so much delayed thi' 
grist mill, that it was not put in operation until the next 
spring. 

In the spring of 179G, large accessions were made to the 
settlement ; among them we find the names of Luke Fisher 
and his son, Phineas Southwell, Silas Southwell. Martin 
Southwell. Asahel Porter, Ezekiel Porter, Aaron Willard, 
Jacob Springer, Jeptha King, Hezekiah Jones and son, a Mr. 
>Stockwell, and three young men by the name of King, and 
doubtless a number of others whose names are not now re- 
collected. Of these, many were in the employment of tlic 
Holland Company, while others "took up" farms, and com 
menced clearing away the heavy forest. This spring the 
(Jompany erected the store now occupied by the Messrs 
Bamber, and with such rapidity, that it was occupied as a 
store as early as June. In the fall the Company erected a 
]niilding for a tavern. In size and appearance, it nearly 
corresponded with the store. Of these several structures 
erected by the Holland Company, none now remain, except 
the store The tavern was upon the -lot upon which stands 
tlie stone building in which the Post Office is now kept. 
From the best information obtained, the first death in the 
town was that of a Mr. Truman. Of this there is, however, 
some uncertainty, as other informants think it was a Mr. 
Darrow who died first. 

That pleasant relation first instituted in Eden, "when 
angels were witnesses, and Grod the priest," was early at- 
tended to. The first marriage was tliat of Mr. Henry Evans 
and Miss Elizabeth Edmunds, daughter of Capt. Andrew 
Edmunds, the first settler. If .some died, others were born 
Tlic first birth in the town was that of a daughter of Jacob 
Springer. 



1 ! S AXXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAF. 

This town lies in an elevated position, the head waters of 
the Mohawk and Black Kivers, and Fish Creek, being found 
almost in the same neighborhood. Snow falls to a greater 
depth than in the southern part of the county. The larger 
portion of the town is better adapted to pasture than grain 
In the south part of the town is a section which has received 
the distinctive local name of Egypt, possessing a warm 
gravelly soil, which is good for grain. In many parts, the 
surface is dotted with immense bowlders. Quarries of good 
limestone for building purposes, are abundant. Dairying i.^ 
the most general and productive business carried on by the 
farmers, and is receiving to some extent the attention it de- 
serves. Lumber is abundant, and large quantities were' 
prepared for market in anticipation of the opening of the 
Black Biver Canal in the spring of 1850. and which tbund 
its way to market in the following season of navigation. 
The forests of pine and spruce are so extensive upon and 
near the head-waters of the Black Biver, that many 3-ear>5 
must elapse, even with the facilities of the canal, before they 
can be cleared. 

The Black Biver Canal feeder extends from the river at 
Williamsville, nine miles to Boonville village, at which is 
the summit level. Extending upon this level about two 
miles in a south-westerly course from the village, it enters 
the ravine (for valley it can not be termed) of Lansing Kill 
(Creek), and keeping in the frightful chasm of the Kill a 
number of miles, it debouches into the valley of the Mohawk 
in Western. 

The Missionaries of the Cro.ss early visited the '-Black 
River Country," as the valley of that riA-er and its vicinity 
was termed by the early (^migrants. The Congregational 
Church of Boonville was formed by the Bev. Daniel Smith, 
a missionary sent out by the Massachusetts Missionary 



VI. j BOONVILLE. 1 19 

Society, in the summer of 1805. Its records previous to 
1 822 are lost, and little is known of its early history. A 
committee was appointed a few years since, to look up its 
early statistics, hut very little was obtained. This com- 
mittee, however, reported, '• that the Church at its formation 
consisted of nine members, five males and four females ; 
that there were occasional supplies of preaching by mission- 
aries from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; 
that religious meetings were kept up upon the Lord's-day 
when there was no preaching." The committee could not 
ascertain the number of those who had been added previously 
to the time the present records commence. In April, 1831, 
11 branch church was formed in the south part of the town, 
which consisted of twelve members, six males and six females. 
The church contained, January 29, 18.50, 170 communicants. 
TheBoonville Baptist Church was organized Feb. 3, 1810; 
b}^ Elder John Upfold. It consisted of seventeen members, 
ten males and seven females. The first pastor of the ehurcli 
was Elder Timothy Day, who filled the pastorate three yeari$ 
The pastors since that time have been Samuel Marshall, 
Charles Clark, Norman Chase, A. D. Truman. John Hitch- 
cook, Wm. Thompson, Perley P. Parsons, and Eliada 
Tuttle, the present pastor (1850). Up to 182G, the church 
held its meetings in the school house in the village, and in 
private dwellings. In that year they erected a respectable 
and commodious house of worship. Previously to, and after 
the formation of the church, and before it had a stated 
pastor, those veteran pioneers. Elders Stephen Parsons, 
John Stephens, John Clark, Williams and Way, occasionally 
preached to the Baptists in this vicinity. After the ehurcli 
had stated preaching, sometimes intervals of months occurred 
during which they had but occasional preaching from mis 
,«ionaries and others. The Eev. Peter P. Roots, Simeon 



120 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAP 

Hcrsey, Tillinghast Green, — Ashley, — ]3eeles, and J) G 
Corey, now of Utiea, occasionally supplied the pulpit. 

The aggregate number of those who have joined this 
church since its organization, as nearly as can now be ascer- 
tained, is 275 : and the present number of communicants is 
sixty-six. This body has nerer joined the Oneida Baptist 
Association, but has retained its connection with the Black 
River Association. 

There is a Methodist Churc4i in this town, with a con- 
siderable congregation, and which has erected a chaste and 
commodious house for public worship. 

Boonville village is a very thriving and handsome jjiacc, 
situated upon^ the plank road leading from Utica to Turin 
and Lowville. The construction of the Black River Canal 
has added much to the importance of this village ; and in 
amount of business, its inhabitants concede a superiority, of 
places within this county, but to- Utica and Rome. The 
village contains seven dry goods stores, one drug store. 130 
dwellings, and about 1,000 inhabitants. It has no Academy, 
but its common school house is a comuiodious two story 
stone building. Two teachers are emploj^ed in it, who have 
an average attendance of about ninety students. 

Alder Creek village and post office are situated seven 
miles southerly from Boonville village, where the plank road 
crosses the creek of that name. This place has a small union 
church building, which was erected and has been occupied as 
a house of woi'ship by the Methodists, Baptists, and Pres- 
byterians. Here are an extensive tannery, and some other 
branches of mechanics ; also a store and two taverns. The 
first settler at this place was John Piatt, who commenced 
here about 1805, and who is stiM living in the vicinity. 

Williamsville is a small village at the head of the Black 
River Canal feeder, upon the line between Boonville au(3 



VI.] BOONVILLE. 121 

Keuisei! Here are two saw mills, a store, planing mill, 
butter-tul) factory, and several dwellings. 

According to the census of 1845, there were then twenty - 
five saw mills in the town of Boonville, tlie largest number 
in any town in the county, excepting Vienna ; also two grist 
mills, two carding machines, two iron works, three asheries, 
and three tanneries. The population of the town was 3,053. 

The first town meeting in Boonville was held at the house 
of Joseph Denning. Jacob llogcrs was elected the first 
Supervisor, but held the office but one year, and was suc- 
ceeded by Philip Schuyler, who held the office one year. 
Job Fish one year. John Gr. Post two 3'ears, Martin South- 
well thirteen years, John Dewey four years, Henry Graves*^ 
nine years. Philip IM. Schuyler three years, Stephen Ward 
five years. 'SYm. S Jackson two years, and Wilson B. (Irant 
three years: the last first elected in 1849. The decrease in 
the population of this town, apparent from a comparison oi 
the census returns of 1840 and 1850, is to be accounted for 
in tlic facts that Ava, with a population of about 1.000, was 
taken from this town in 1846, and that in 1840 many hun- 
dreds of laborers upon the Black Eiver Canal, and thei? 
families, were then inhabitants of this town, but most of 
whnm have since removed to other sections of the country 
where juiblic works were in progress. 



122 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CII., 



CHAPTER VII. 



ERIDGEWATER. 



Turs towu i.s located within and upon the sides of a valley, 
which extends through it from north to south, and its east 
and west lines are upon the highlands which form the sides 
of the valley. This valley is known in this section of the 
State by the name of Bridgewater Flats. The Flats at the 
north line of the town are about one mile wide, and decrease 
gradually to the south line of the town, where they are about 
half a mile in width. 

These Flats are celebrated for their fertility, and in gen- 
eral are very highly cultivated. Portions of them in the 
central and southern parts of the town are quite sandy, and 
in the northern part they are .somewhat stoney, with an oc- 
casional bowlder. The State geologist, when he visited this 
town, gave as his opinion that no rock existed underlaying 
this valley, within 1,000 feet from the surface, and this opin- 
ion is partially sustained by the fact that no rock has been 
found in the deepest wells which have been sunk. One of 
the head-waters of the Unadilla rises in Paris, and passes 
through this valley to the south. Upon the banks of this 
stream was originally a dense cedar swamp, from twenty to 
sixty rods in width, which served to fence the farms in the 
vicinity, and much is left for future use. Another branch of 
the Unadilla rises near the north-west corner of Bridgewater, 
and empties into the above described stream, a short distance 



VII.] EUIDGEWATER. 123 

above the Corners, near the south bounds of the town. The 
'• Line of Property," so called, extends from a point west of 
Rome upon Wood Creek, opposite where the Canada Creek 
empties into it, to the head of this last described branch of 
the Unadilla. This was the longest line upon the same point 
of compass in the county. Its original course was south 27 
flegrees east. A sketch of the history of this '-Line of 
Property," so often referred to in old Indian treaties and in 
conveyances, may be interesting. For a great number of 
years, the want of a settled boundary between the Six 
Nations and their dependencies, on the one hand, and the 
colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, and Virginia, on the other, was the source of many 
difficulties. These resulted in complaints and outrages on 
the part of the Indians, and encroachments and wrongs on 
the part of the whites. For half a century, at nearly every 
annual meeting of the Indians with the Governor of New 
York at Albany, these difficulties were the subject of, nego- 
tiation and "talk." To remedy these evils, a convention was 
held at Fort Stanwix, Nov. 5, 17G8, in which the colonies 
were represented by Sir Wm. Johnson, General Indian 
Agent, Wm. Franklin, Governor, and Fre. Smyth, Chief 
Justice of New Jersey, Thos. Walker, Commissioner for 
Virginia, Richard Peters and James Tilghman, of the Coun- 
cil of Pennsylvania; and the Six Nations by Tyorhansere, 
alias Abraham, Chief of the Mohawks, Canaghaguieson, of 
the Oneidas, Seguareesera, of the Tuscaroras, Otsinoghiyata, 
alias Bunt, of the Onondagas, Tegaaia, of the Cayugas, and 
Guastrax, of the Senecas. The boundary established be- 
tween the Indians and colonies began at the mouth of the 
Tennessee (then Cherokee or Hogohege) River, near the 
junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi, thence up along 
the south banks of the Ohio to Kittaming, above Fort Pitt 



124 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

(Pittslturgb), thence to the west brancli of the Susquehanna, 
and across the Alleghany Mountains to the east branch of 
t^e Susquehanna, and thence up that branch to the Owegy 
(Owego), thence to the Delaware River, and up that river 
to a point opposite where the Tianaderha (the XJnadilla) 
falls into the Susquehanna, thence across to and up the west 
branch of the Unadilla to the head of the same, thence in a 
straight line to the junction, of Canada Creek with AVood 
Creek, "at the west of the carrying place beyond Fort Stan- 
wis." This was the '-Line of Property," but that part of it 
from the head of the Unadilla in Bridgewater to Wood Creek, 
is more generally known by that name than the other por- 
tions. The Patent of Coxeborough, granted soon after- 
wards, extended the entire length of this part of the line, and 
was bounded upon it on the west. After the Revolution, 
the tracts granted by the Oneidas to this State, were bounded 
on tlie east upon this '-Line of Property," and in subsequent 
conveyances, this Line has been constantly referred to, and 
that too by many who, wondering at the singularity of the 
term, knew little or nothing of its history. The south part 
of the Patent of Coxeborough was called, prior to the Revo- 
lution, the township of Carolana, and the north part the 
Township of Coxeborough, the line between. the two being 
tlie Oriskany Creek. See notice of Coxeborough at the 
close of Chapter II. 

Another small branch of the Unadilla is made from 
springs, and crosses the plank road near the centre of the 
town. Upon the banks of this stream there is a belt of 
small cedars, giving it quite a picturesque appearance. The 
water is so pure, that it is a favorite resort of the speckled 
trout. 

In the north-east part of the town is a quarry of excellent 
liniestonc for building purposes. This quarry extends over 



VII.] bridgewaTEr. 123 

some three or four hundred acres, and lies about thirty feet 
higher than the fiats opposite. In the same section, lying 
higher than the limestone, and upon the farm now owned by 
Peleg Babcock, a small quantity of coal has been discovered. 
The vein is very thin, and the quantity so limited, that very 
little hope is entertained of there being sufficient to render 
it of any importance. According to the theories of geolo- 
gists, this vein seems out of place, "for although vastly 
higher tha» the coal region in Pennsylvania, it is too low for 
coal. In other words, the dip of the coal beds in that State 
is such, that it would rise much above any section of this 
county. In the same formation with this stray vein of coal, 
iron pyrites are found, which arc quite inflammable, and 
burn like wood." 

The hills upon the east and west sides of the valley, are 
quite dissimilar in soil and formation. In the north part of 
the town, south of the limestone, the side hill contains much 
slate ; opposite, on the west side of the valley, there is shale. 
On the east hill, the soil is a gravelly loam ; on the west, 
the soil is clayey. 



FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWjV, 

In the year 1788, Joseph Farwell came to the .south part 
of this town, and commenced a clearing at the place known 
as Farwell's it'iW. This was the commencement of the set- 
tlement of Bridgewater. Ezra Parker came later in the same 
year. In March, 1789, Farwell, in company with Ephraini 
AValdo and Nathan Waldo, removed their families from 
Mansfield, Conn., to Farwell's Hill. They came by the way 
of Albany, up the valley of the Mohawk to Whitcsboro. and- 



126 ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTr, [cHAP. 

from thence by the way of Paris Hill to Bridgewater. From 
Paris Hill they were obliged to make their road as they 
progressed, following a line of marked trees. Their team 
consisted of two yoke of oxen and a horse, and the vehicle 
an ox sled. They arrived on the 4th of March. The snow 
at this time was about one and a half feet deep, but soon 
increased, to the depth of four feet. They had two cows, 
which, with the oxen and horse, subsisted until the snow left 
upon browse alone. Upon their arrival, they erected a 
shanty in the most primeval style. Four crotches set in the 
.ground, with a roof of split basswood, overlaid with hemlock 
boughs, with siding composed of coverlets and blankets, 
formed the first dwelling house ever erected in the town of 
Bridgewater. The three families continued in this miserable 
apology for a house until midsummer, when two of them, 
having more comfortable dwellings provided, removed to 
them, while the other remained for a year. Farwell's house 
was of logs, built upon the hill where he commenced the 
previous season. About three years afterwards, he erected 
the first framed house in town. 

Ezra Parker removed with his family into the north part 
of Bridgewater in 1789, and built a log house, which soon 
afterwards he opened as a " house of entertainment." The 
same year, a Mr. Lyman settled upon the present location of 
.Parkhurst's tavern. Three or four years subsequently he 
erected the second framed house in town, and this is the 
house in which the tavern is now kept by Parkhurst. All 
the families in town in that year have been named. The 
first two years, the settlers were obliged to go to Whitestown 
to mill, a distance of twenty miles, as their circuitous path 
by marked trees then ran. In 1790, two men of the name of 
Hubbard settled in the west part of the town. This year 
Maj. Farwell constructed a saw mill upon the west branch of 



Vil.J BRIDGEWATER. 127 

the Unadilla River, and which stood about three-fourths of a 
mile below the junction of the West Branch and the Tiana- 
dara Creek. This is propably the aame name given above as; 
Tianaderha, slightly changed. In 1791, Jesse Ives, Joel 
Ives, and Abner Ives, settled upon the hill known as Ives' 
Hill, where Jesse Ives yet resides. 

In 1792, Ephraim "Waldo built a store and a blacksmith's 
t^hop upon Farwell's Hill, and these were the first in town. 
This year, Mr. Thomas built the first grist mill in town, upon 
the same stream and a short distance below Farwell's saw 
mill. 

Soon after the settlement of the town, a son of Ephraim 
Waldo, eight years of age, while in the woods, discovered a 
small young bear by the side of a log, asleep. The little 
boy, intent upon securing the animal, noiselessly retreated 
until he found a small elm, from which, with his Barloio 
knife, he succeeded in peeling a piece of bark suitable for his 
purpose. Having fixed a noose in the end of his lasso, and 
creeping to the opposite side of the log, he had the good for- 
tune to slip the noose over little Bruin's head, at the sanie 
time making sure of his prize by tightening the cord so that 
it could not utter a cry. He was too much of a back-woods- 
man not to know that the dam, in such cases, is always 
within hailing distance of her young. Then came the '"tug 
of war,"' in the process of dragging the animal towards 
home, and which manifested the strongest evidence of its 
not having been previously broken to the halter. The old 
bear, soon missing her cub, followed upon the trail a con- 
siderable distance, until she came to the highway, where, 
fortunately for the boy, she was discovered and shot by Jesse 
Waldo. The boy, now free from danger, kept on his way 
home, where he arrived in safety with his trophy of success 
in bear huntincr 



*28 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAF 

BridgeWatef is the smallest town in the county. It is 
•about four and a half miles in width from north to south, 
and five and a half in length from east to west. According 
to the last census, it was the smallest in population, contain- 
ins at that time 1;358 inhabitants. 



RELlGIOfS SOCIETIES. 

The Fresbytcrian Society in this town was constituted 
March 8, 1798, with thirteen members. In 1S05, they 
erected a house of worship, in which they continued to meet 
until 1834. The Church was then divided, and a new house 
of worship built at Bridgewater Corners, in the south part of 
the town. » The other portion of the body formed the (Jass- 
ville Church, and erected a meeting house at that place. 
Neither church has now a pastor. The following persons 
have been pastors of the Bridgewater Church, viz. : — Ilev 
John Southworth, Eev. A. Miller, Rev. C. Matchiu, and 
Ilev. Edward Allen. Mr. E. Allen was dismissed m the 
spring of 1846, went to Wisconsin, where he soon afterwards 
died. Since Mr. Allen left, the church has had no settled 
pastor. The present number of members is 1 1 2. 

The Friends formerly had a considerable society in Bridge- 
water, and built a good and commodious house of worship. 
The society has become so scat'tered, that they do not now 
maintain worship, and their meeting house is fast going t(j 
decay. 

The Baptist Church of Bridgewater was constituted July 
12, 1826, with sixteen members. They settled the liev 
Amasa Smith as pastor, who labored with them nbont nine 



vil] cridgewatkh, 1-29 

years. The ehurcli was prosperous during his ministry, and 
increased to sixty members. The second pastor was the 
Kev. Jonathan P. Simmons, who commenced his labors in 
April, 1835. He was a successful preacher, for during the 
first year of his ministry, the church was increased to 114 
members. Mr. Simmons was succeeded by tlie Rev. Jason 
Corwin, and he by the Rev. Daniel Dye, who was followed 
by the Rev. P. W. Mills, and he by the Rev. D. W. Smith. 
Kev. Mr. Smith is still connected with the church, but not 
i!s pastor, he having assumed the charge of the Female 
Seminary. Since the pastorate of Mr. Simmons, the church 
has experienced prosperity and adversity, its numbers having 
varied from 60 to 120. This body is well united at this 
time. Present number, 98. Their house of worship was 
erected in 1826, upon the hill a short distance west of the 
village. In 1840, it was removed to near the centre of the 
village, when it was repaired and much improved, and is 
now a very convenient house of worship. 

The Universalists erected a respectable house of worship 
a little south of the village in 1834. Their first preacher 
was the Rev. L. D. Smith. Messrs. Grosh, Brown, and 
Woolly, have since preached to this society. At present 
they have no regular preaclier, They number about forty 
members. 

An Academy was established at the village of Bridge- 
water in the year 1826, and continued to flourish for 
about ten years, but was discontinued in 1839. A large 
and commodious building had been erected at a cost of 
$2,500 for the use of this school, and furnished with a good 
chemical and philosophical apparatus and library. For the 
first ten years of its existence, it averaged one hundred 

9 



130 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

pupila, and maintained a high character for its efficiency in 
instruction. Its decline, and final extinction, was most un- 
fortunate for the interests of education in that portion of 
the county. 

Another school was instituted in Becember, 1847, by the 
name of the "Eridgewater Seminary," which in May. 1849, 
was altered to that of -'Eridgewater Female Seminai-y," 
and is now conducted for the education of females. This 
school is very prosperous, with about ninety young ladies in 
attendance. Many attend, from its high reputation, the 
department of music. In this branch of education it has 
few equals. This school is under the supervision of the 
Rev. D. W. Smith, and its flourishing state is ample evidence 
of his fitness for the duties he has assumed. 



VIII.] CAMDEN. 131 



C H A P T E K Y 1 1 1 



CAMDEN. 



The town of Camden is composed of the seventh and one 
half of the eighth townships of Scriba's Patent. It was 
taken from the town of Mexico, and organized in 1799. 
The j&rst town meeting was held at the house of Samuel 
Royce, Esq., at which John W. Bloomfield was chosen 
Supervisor, and Samuel Royce Town Clerk. 

Every person who visits Camden village notices the beau- 
tiful cottage at the head of the main street. This cottas'e 
occupies the site of the log house at which the first town 
meeting in Camden was holden. 

In this town there is considerable variety in soil, and the 
country is quite varied. The soil of the shores of Mad 
River is a sandy loam, with a preponderance of sand ; yet 
it is very fertile. The road leading from McConuellsville, 
in Vienna, to Camden village, is quite level, and few farms 
in the county are more productive than a number throuo-h 
which this road passes. In the west part of the town is a 
section known as Hillsboro, which is hilly, and its soil is 
more gravelly and stony, and is better adapted to grazing"- 
than grain. 

Several quarries of good building stone are found on Mad 
River, particularly in Camden village, near Curtis' Mills. 



132 AXNAL? OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cil-^i'. 



Fin.ST SETTLEMENT OF THE TO^^'N. 

.Judge Henry Williams was the first permanent settler of 
this town. Jesse Curtiss, father of Jesse Curtiss, Esq., of 
Clinton, came to the town and erected a saw mill previously 
to the arrival of Judge Williams, but his family did not 
arrive until afterwards. The frame of this saw mill was 
raised by eight persons, viz. : — Maj. Jesse Curtiss, and hi,^ 
son Elisha, Samuel Koyce, Esq., Aaron Matthews, Esq., and 
his two sons Aaron and Lyman, and son-in-law Church, and 
daughter Rosetta. Some are of the opinion that three or 
four other families came into the town about the same time 
Judge Williams arrived, but all of them, with the exception 
of the latter, returned to the older settlements to remain 
the first winter. This leaves the Judge the first permanent 
settler. The first settlers were Henry Williams, Levi Mat- 
thews, Daniel Parke, Seth Dunbar, Joel Dunbar, Aaron 
Matthews, Thomas Comstock, Jesse Curtiss, Elihu Curtiss 
(father of Gen. Lyman Curtiss), Samuel T^oyce, Noah Tut- 
tle, x\ndrew Tuttle, Benjamin Barnes, Benjamin Barnes, 
Jun., Philip Barnes, Israel Stoddard, and Mr. Carrier. 
Judge Israel Stoddard came to Camden in 1798, and pur- 
chased a farm, upon which was a small house, and he again 
arrived with his family about the middle of May, 1799. 
Upon his arrival at his house, he found that a funeral was 
being attended within it. A Mrs. Bacon, with her infant 
child, and another woman, whose name was not ascertained 
by the writer, were crossing Mad Ivivcr in a canoe, and 
when near the middle of the stream, the canoe was acciden- 
tally overturned, and the three left to the mercy of the 
rapid current. Mr. Carrier, who was near by, plunged in 
and rescued the woman, but Mrs. Bacon and child were 



\Ul.j CAMDEN. 133 

drowned. It was the funeral of the mother and child which 
the Judge found when he and his family arrived at their 
new home. These were the first deaths in the town. 

Camden village^ a very handsome, thriving place, is located 
upon the east side of Mad River, and contains about five 
hundred inhabitants. The village contains two common 
school districts, with about 125 children each. An unincor- 
porated Academy occupies the lower story of the town hall, 
and has usually from fifty to sixty students in attendance. 
The common schools in town and village are generally well 
attended, and flourishing. Ther6 are fifteen districts, and 
parts of districts, in the town. 

In the village there arc a good flouring mill and two saw 
mills, four shingle machines, two tanneries, six stores, one 
grocery, six blacksmiths' shops, a woolen factory, employing 
from ten to twelve persons, and two iron foundries, connected 
with machine shops and jdow factories, in which are manu- 
factured all kinds of mill irons, and various patterns of p]ow.«. 
three taverns, and four churches. 

In West Camden there are a store and a tavern. There 
are twenty-two saw mills in the town. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The First Congregational Church, in Camden was orguu- 
ized in Paris, in this county, on the 19th of February, 179^. 
by the Eev. Eliphalet Steele, then the pastor of the Con- 
gregational Church of Paris Hill. It consisted of eight 
members, four males and four females, who were dismissed 
from Mr. Steele-s church, viz.; — Benjamin Barnes and 
Jemima his wife, Noah Tuttle and Thankful his wife. 
Philip Barnes and Laura his wife, Buth Barnes, wife of 



134 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Oliver Barnes, and Benjamin Barnes, Jun. Tims organ- 
ized, the Church removed to Camden, then a part of the 
town of Mexico. The first sermon preached in the place 
was by the Rev. Joshua Johnson, of Redfield, from Isaiah 
XXXV. 1 : '• The wilderness and the solitary jjlace shall be 
glad for them: and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as 
the rose." Within the year 1799, the church and society 
erected a house of worship, and the pews were sold for the 
.support of preaching. The pews continue to be sold annu- 
ally to raise money for the same purpose. In September, 
1800, twelve were received from various other churches, and 
in November, 1803, eleven others were added to their num- 
ber. June 5, 1803, several of the members of this church, 
and several others, in all twenty- three, were organized into a 
church, called the Second Congregational Church of Camden, 
and this society subsequently erected a house of wor,ship. 

In 1807, the First Church and congregation erected and 
enclosed a meeting house. 

October 6, 1809, they gave the Rev. Ebenezer Laven- 
worth a call to become their pastor, which was accepted, and 
he was duly ordained and installed. He was a plain preach- 
er, and during his ministry thirty-six were added to his 
church. 

October 13, 1813, he was dismissed, at his own re- 
quest, and removed to Pompey ; and the chui-ch received 
stated supplies from the Rev. Messrs. Brainard, Sweezy, and 
others. Mr. Sweezy's labors were much blessed, and in 
the following winter Rev. Oliver Eastman, from Vermont, 
preached to the church, and as a result of their labors, and 
the revival which followed, fifty were added to the church. 
A society was soon organized under the statute, by the name 
of the Union Congregational Society. The terms of union 
were, that meetings should be held in the houses of worship 



VIII.] CAMDEN. 135 

of the two churches alternately, and in proportion to the 
amount raised by each for the support of preaching. 

In 1815, the Second Church united with the First Church, 
and subsequently but one organization was maintained. 

In February, 1817, Henry Smith, a native of Durham, 
N. H., a graduate of Bowdoiu College, and a licentiate of 
the Salem Association, was unanimously called by the 
church and society to become their pastor. The call was 
accepted, and he was duly ordained and installed by a body 
of ministers from the Oneida Presbytery and the Oneida 
Association. The Hev. John Frost, of the Oneida Pres- 
l>ytery, preached the ordination sermon, from 1 Tim. iii. 1. 

In the autumn of 1818, by its request, this church was 
<lismissed from the Oneida Congregational Association, and 
united with the Oneida Presbytery, upon the "accommodating 
plan," reserving to itself the congregational form of govern- 
ment. 

The labors of Mr. Smith were greatly blessed to the good 
of the people. In 1818 and 1821 there were accessions to 
the church; and in 1824 about sixty, and in 1825 about 
seventy were added to their number. But 1826 was the 
crowning year of all, and justly styled, " the great revival." 
As a result of this revival, more than 150 were added to this 
church, while many others united with other churches and 
denominations. Defections followed, but the pastor being a 
•' peace maker," the wanderers were generally reclaimed, and 
that too without compromising any principle on his part. 
Upon the organization of the Oswego Presbytery, Jan. 17, 
1823, this church, with its pastor, became a member of that 
body. 

During Mr. Smith's labors, the church increased from 100 
to 600 members. Bible classes and Sunday Schools were 
Postered by him, and were instrumental of great good. 



136 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

Mr. Smifcli, after a severe illness of about ten days, died, 
July 19, 1828. He died in the triumphs of faith. 

The church was without a settled pastor about one year, 
but during this time was supplied by the Rev. Herman Nor- 
ton and Lewis H. Loss, and about twenty were added to its! 
members. A call was given to Mr. Loss to become its pas- 
tor, which was accepted, and he was ordained Nov. 11, 1829, 
by the Oswego Presbytery. During the year of the pas- 
torate of Mr. Loss, forty pereons, mostly heads of families, 
were added to the church. 

l)iscordaut anti-masonry, with its anti-Christian spirit, 
crept into the church, and Mr. Loss, from a consciousness of 
his want of experience, was induced at the end of the yeai 
to ask a dismission, which was reluctantly granted. 

The llev. John Barton was soon afterwards procured as a 
preacher, and he continued his labors for two years. Hi^ 
was well calculated to allay the excitement. The church 
modified its resolutions, and the Masonic members pledged 
themselves to refrain from any connection with the Masonic 
institutions, and thus harmony was restored. 

In August, 18S1, a protracted meeting was commenced, 
under the direction of the Rev. J. Burchard. The result.^ 
(if this meeting were the hopeful conversion of about 700 
]-)ersons, residing in Camden and the adjoining towns. 

Mr. Barton declining to become pastor of the church, hi.^ 
labors were terminated at the close of the two years, and 
llev. John Gray succeeded him, and preached eight months. 
Soon afterwards, the Rev. William Lusk presented himself 
as a candidate for settlement, and, after a brief probation, 
was ordained, Feb. 19, 1834. At first he had a large con- 
gregation, but being understood to be somewhat prejudiced 
against '-new measures," a disaiFection was created, and at 
the close of the first year such was the state of affairs, that 



VIII.] CAMDEN. 137r 

fears were entertained that he could not be longer sustained. 
An unhappy division followed, but after a protracted exa- 
mination, the Presbytery advised the continuance of their 
relations. A meeting of the society was called, and after a 
warm discussion by both parties, a vote was passed to give 
]Mr. Lusk the six months' notice of their wish to have the 
pastoral relation dissolved, according to the stipulations of 
the settlement. Tlie case was again presented to the Pres- 
bytery, and that body granted the request of the majority of 
the society, and the fall his labors terminated. 

In 1836, their divisions had become in a great measure 
healed, and the society made a successful effort to repair 
their meeting house. The pulpit was supplied for a year 
and a half by the Rev. Messrs. "William Fuller and Jehu 
(!ross, and Mr. Puller was successful in gathering in a num- 
])er of converts. A sufficient sum v,'as raised by the sale of 
slips to justify the calling of a pastor, and an invitation was 
therefore given to the llev. John Barton, which was ac- 
cepted, and he was duly installed, lie continued his labors 
with them for eight years, and was an instrument of much 
good to the people of his charge. During this terra, there 
were 120 additions, 97 were dismissed, and 28 died. At the 
installation of Mr. Barton, the church numbered 325 mem- 
bers. His labors closed in the fall of 1844. He was suc- 
ceeded by tlie Rev. R. Richard Kirk, who was installed Oct. 
7, 1845. Mr. Kirk continues his labors with encouraging 
prospects, and enjoys the confidence of a large and respec- 
table congregation. Thirt3^-five have been added to the 
church since the commencement of his labors, and at this 
time it numl^ers 325 members. 

A few incidents will close the history of this church. Mrs. 
Thankful Northrop, one of the pioneers in the settlement of 
Camden, and one of the original members of the church 



138 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

when organized at Paris Hill, (she was then the wife of Noah 
Tuttle,) is yet a frequent attendant at church, and a regular 
member of the Sunday School.* 

Since 1815, the church has experienced eighteen extensive 
revivals, and has received about 1,100 members, a large 
majority of whom have changed their relation, to bear tes- 
timony in other spheres to the truths of the Gospel, and the 
blessings of its institutions. 

At an early period the society received a donation of 
hind from the heirs of Mr. John IMurray, the avails of 
which produce an annual income of $112. This fund Ls 
perpetual. 



* Since penning the above, the writer has received the intelli- 
gence that tliis good old lady has gone to her rest. She died the 
]Uh of February, 1849, being her birth-day, having completed her 
S4th year. 



IX.] DEERFIELD. 139 



CHAPTER IX. 

DEERFIELD. 

By an act of the Legislature, passed Marcli 15. 1798, the 
County of Oneida was taken from Herkimer County, with 
its eastern, boundary commencing on the south-east corner of 
the town of Bridgewater, and running north on the east line 
of Bridgewater to the south-east corner of Paris, thence on 
the same line continued on the east line of Paris and Whites- 
town, to the southerly line of Cosby's Manor. Thus far, the 
county line was upon the original line of Whitestown, as 
established in 1788. Commencing on the southerly line of 
Cosby's Manor, the county line diverged from the original 
line of Whitestown, by running nortli-easterly in a direct 
line to the northerly bounds of Cosby's Manor at a point 
where the same is intersected by the division line between 
Gage's and Walton's Patents, thence northerly upon the 
line between Walton's and Gage's Patents to the West 
Canada Creek, thence northerly up the waters of said creek 
to the forks thereof, &c. The line of the county thus di- 
verging from the original line of Whitestown, left portions 
of the towns of Frankfort and Schuyler in the county of 
Oneida. The act then proceeded to annex the part so left 
of Frankfort to Whitestown, and then organized the town 
of Deerfield of the part taken from Schuyler, providing that 
the first town meeting should be held at the house of Ezra 
Payne. The author has been thus particular in the descrip- 



140 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

tion of tills line, from the fact that heretofore there has been 
some uueertainty in the minds of a portion of the early set- 
tlers of the county as to when, and how, the east line of 
Whitcstown (which crossed the Mohawk at the fording place 
now the foot of Genesee street, Utica) had been carried far- 
ther east than it ran originally. 

The history of the first settlement of Decrfield contains 
much of interest. 

In 1773, George J. "Weaver, Capt. Mark Damoth, and 
Christian Reall, moved to the vicinity of Deerfield Corners. 
l)uilt themselves log houses, and commenced clearing away 
the forest. Little is known of their trials and hardships up 
to 177G. Like a large proportion of the Dutch on the 
Mohawk, these settlers were staunch Whigs. Not having 
the sign of being tories at their doors, (this sign was the 
scull bone of a horse upon the top of a stake), they were 
marked for the firebrand and the scalping knife. In the 
summer of 1776 an Indian, believed to have been an Oneida, 
and who for some cause had received the sobriquet of Blue 
Bach, was hunting northwardly from the settlement, and in 
the vicinity of Canada Creek. While thus occupied he came 
upon a party of tories and Indians, who were very particular 
in their inquiries respecting the little settlement at the 
Corners. Blue Back gave such answers as he chose, and the 
party proceeded in the direction of the settlement. After 
they were out of sight. Blue Black, who was well acquainted 
with, and the fast friend of the settlers, and boding no good 
to them from the visit they were about to receive, determined 
to apprize them of their danger. For this purpose, being well 
acquainted with the intervening hills, swamps, and thickets, 
with all the rapidity of the Indian scout, he hasted to their 
settlement, and gave them timely warning of their danger. 
Soon their scanty furniture was hidden in the forest, and 



rx.] DEERFIRLD. 141 

the women and children, in a wagon, accompanied by tlic 
men on foot, were rapidly wending their way to Little Stone 
Arabia, a small fort, which was situated in the present town 
•if Schuyler. The time was but brief ere the Indians and 
tories were in the settlement, but "the birds had flown," and 
nothing was left upon which to vent their disappointed spite, 
except the empty dwellings. To these the brand was ap- 
])lied, and their charred ruins were all that was left of the 
first settlement of Deerfield. 

If thus successful in their escape were these pioneers, yet 
in the succeeding troublous times of the Revolution, two of 
them at least came in for a full share of the suiForing which 
fell so heavily upon the good Dutch inhabitants of the 
Mohawk valley. Mr. Damoth, who had previously resided 
at Herkimer, returned to that place, and soon afterwards 
received a Captain's commission in a company of rangers. 
In an attack upon that place, he had an arm so shattered, 
that it never afterwards entirely recovered, and on account 
of which he received a pension to the close of his life. 

Mr. Weaver was hardly as fortunate. He was taken pri- 
soner near Herkimer, by a party of tories and Indians, and 
from thence, by the way of Oswego, was taken to Canada. 
He was kept in such close confinement in the prison at 
(Quebec, that for nine months he never saw the sun, moon, or 
stars. From Quebec he was taken to England, where, after 
having been a prisoner for more than two years, he was ex- 
changed, and returned to his native valley. 

In the summer of 1784, as a singular coincidence, after all 
the casualties of war, when it could be truly said, " there was 
scarcely an individual in the whole Mohawk valley who had 
not mourned a father, mother, brother, daughter, or lover' 
slain," after the guns of the tories, and the firebrand, toma- 
hawk, and scalping knife of the less savage Indians had ren- 



142 ANNALS OF ONEI0A COUNTY. [CHAP. 

(Icred this beautiful and fertile valley almost a desert waste, 
these three first settlers and their families were again united 
upon their old farms, planting and gathering crops in the 
same fields their own hands had cleared, at Deerfield Cor- 
ners. About the same time, Peter Weaver, Nicholas 
Weaver, George Weaver (originally spelt Weber), George 
Damoth, Nicholas Harter, and Philip Harter, arrived and 
settled in the neighborhood. Of these, Nicholas Harter 
only survives, and now (autumn of 1850), at the age of 
ninety years, in the enjoyment of a green old age, with, 
apparently, but few of the infirmities of so long a life, he is 
left to recount the sufferings, trials, exploits, and incidents of 
the Revolution to a new generation. He was born at Her- 
kimer, and although but a lad, was familiar with the paths 
'to old Forts Schuyler and Stanwix, and the settlement at 
Deerfield, prior to the war. He married the daughter of 
Capt. Damoth (Damoot as pronounced by the Dutch, and 
Damewood by the early New England settlers). AYith a 
hearty laugh he related to the writer a "scrape" he once 
witnessed in the Mohawk, near the foot of Genesee street, 
Utica. A few days after the Oriskany battle, a party 
started from the Mohawk settlements with a number of 
beef cattle for the garrison at Fort Stanwis, and several 
women took this opportunity of an escort to visit their hus- 
bands who belonged to the garrison ; the women on horse- 
back, while the cattle drivers were on foot. Upon arriving 
at the fording place in the Mohawk at the point named, and 
as one of the women was descending the steep bank to the 
river, a brawny Dutchman, who did not wish to wet his feet, 
jumped upon the horse's back, behind the woman. The 
horse, offended either on account of this unceremonious ac- 
cession to his load, or else the reversed order in which his 
cargo was arranged, sprang forward, and by '' a well-directed 



IX.] DEERFIELD. 143 

effort," threw the Dutchman into the centre of the streana, 
while the woman landed in safety. 

The early settlement of Deerfield was confined to that 
portion of the town lying in the Mohawk valley, and the hill 
sides adjoining. The Coxes and Coffins settled in the north 
part of the town, near Canada Creek, some fifteen or twenty 
years afterwards. 

Reall's Creek is the small mill stream that rises in the 
high land between Canada Creek and the Mohawk, and 
running past the Corners, empties into the Mohawk. It 
received its name from the Reall mentioned as one of the 
first settlers ; his first house, which was burnt by the Indians, 
stood upon its bank. His second house is yet standing. 

In 1792, the first bridge was erected over the Mohawk, 
between Utica and Deerfield. To insure more help, it was 
raised on Sunday. George M. Weaver, son of George J. 
Weaver, and his wife, with their little son, the present 
George M. Weaver, of Deerfield, were on their way to the 
raising, and when about half way from the Corners to Utica, 
and some twenty or thirty rods above the present McAdam 
road, their dog treed a bear. Mr. Weaver left his wife and 
son with the dog, to keep the animal up the tree, while he 
returned for his gun. The peculiar barking of the dog had 
apprised the inhabitants of " Old Fort Schuyler," that valu- 
able game was on foot, and a number of them arrived with 
their giins at about the same time that Mr. Weaver re- 
turned. Four or five shots were made in quick succession, 
and poor Bruin's life paid the forfeit for his temerity in 
approaching so near the site of an embryo city. 

Dr. Francis Guiteau was elected first Supervisor, and 
Isaac Bray ton Town Clerk. 

The intervale land, so celebrated as the Mohawk Flats, is 
alluvial, and the soil such as is common to bottom land. 



1 44 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Rack from this is a gravelly plain, naturally good for grain ; 
but too much cropping, with too little manure, has in many 
instances rendered it less productive than it should be. 
From this plain rises, and in some places quite abruptly, 
the high land adverted to, between the IMohawk and West 
(Janada Creek, known as Deerfield Hill. . This high land h 
better adapted to grass than grain. The forests of this higli 
land have for many years supplied Iltica with a large por- 
tion of its fuel, but these have now almost disappeared, and 
but a few years will elapse before, instead of taking wood to 
TItica, coal will have to be brought for home consumption. 

Deerfield Corners is a village of considerable business, 
containing a dry goods store, a number of groceries, and a 
tavern. Between the Corners and Utica, nearly ail the 
bricks used for building in the city of Utica have been 
made. They are made from the alluvial deposits of the 
Mohawk, and are durable weather bricks. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The contiguity of the thickly-settled portion of this town 
to Utica, where large congregations of the difterent denomi- 
nations assemble regularly for worship, has caused quite a 
proportion of the church-going population of this town to join 
the different societies in that city. The Baptists gathered a 
church in 1798; the second or third Baptist Church organ- 
ized within the limits of the county, and erected a house of 
worship a short distance below the Corners. Elder Oded 
Eddy was ordained about this time, and became the first 
pastor of this church, which relation he sustained for twenty- 
four years. From the causes mentioned, this body has lost 
its visibility, but the denomination hold meetings occasionally 



iX.] DEERFIELD. 145 

in their house. Elder John Leland, a man of extended 
fame for his strong native powers of mind ; and as a preaclier. 
statesman, and politician, when upon visits to his son, John 
D. Leland, Esq., preached in this place ; and it is needless to 
say, that if timely notice was given, a large audience was 
insured. 

The Methodists also hold meetings occasionally in tlu^ 
Baptist meeting house. 

The North Deerfield and South Trenton Baptist Church 
reported fifty-four members in 1850. Eev. Albert Cole- 
pastor. Elder A. F. Kockwell (now of Utiea) was pas- 
tor in 1841; Elder S. S. Hayward from 1842 to 1844; 
Elder Nelson Ferguson in 1845-6; Elder Wm. A Wells in 
1847-9. The services of the church are divided between 
North G-age in Deerfield, and South Trenton. Of the his- 
tory of this church prior to 1841, the author has obtained 
no particulars. 

In 1845, this town had 2,347 inhabitants, and contained 
one grist mill, eight saw mills, one fulling mill, and one card- 
ing machine, besides various mechanics' shops. There are 
no factories in this town. 



10 



146 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 



CHAPTEK X. 

FLORENCE. 

The settlement of this town was commenced in the fall of 
1801. At this time Amos "Woodworth, father of the Hon. 
Amos Woodworth now residing in the town, settled within 
about half a mile of its north line. John Spinning, at about 
the same time, settled on what is now known as the State 
Road, two miles south-easterly from Florence village ; and a 
Mr. Turner also, at about the same time, moved into the 
town. These three settlers had each fifty acres of land given 
them by William Henderson, of the city of New York, whr 
had previously purchased the fourth township of Scriba's 
Patent. The land was given as a bonus to induce them tO' 
commence the settlement of the township. Perhaps there 
wer>e others who had land given them, but of this no satisfac- 
tory information has been obtained. Very shortly after 
these first settlers had moved into the town, Azariah Orton, 
•d Mr. Crawford and his son Clark Crawford, and Norman 
Waugh, settled in the south part of the town, and Benoni 
Barlow, Ebenezer Barlow, Ambrose Curtiss,Ephraim Wright, 
Joseph Olcott, and Benjamin Youngs, settled on that part of 
the town known as " Florence Hill." • 

Nathan Thompson, who for many years kept a public 
house in what is now known as East Florence, and who was 
succeeded in the tavern by his son Aaron H. Thompson, 



X.] FLORENCE. 147 

Esq.. visited the town in 1801, but did not arrive with his 
family until the 6th of May of the next spring. 

The settlement of this town, in common with the north- 
ern tier of towns, progressed more slowly than the other 
sections of the County. Indeed, until within the last ten 
years, quite a portion of the land had not been purchased 
by actual settlers. In general the land is cold, and there is 
but occasionally a year in which Indian corn comes to matu- 
rity. With but few exceptions, the soil is stony, and in 
many instances after cultivation the land is almost covered 
with cobble and flat stones, a large portion of which are too 
small to make permanent wall for fences. The town is better 
for grazing than grain. Where the farmers have turned 
their attention to dairying, they have been successful, and it 
is believed that eventually, this town will furnish a fair pro- 
portion of butter and cheese for market. Being elevated, 
with a clear, bracing atmosphere, and pure water, it is un- 
usually healthy. 

Within the last three years, the author was at Florence 
Hill. When about to start to go down to the village, a fine 
rosy faced little boy of some twelve or fourteen summers, 
very politely asked if he could ride about two miles. The 
request was granted. He was intelligent and communicative. 
In reply to inquiries in relation to the productions of the 
.soil, he said, " grass did very well, they could not raise much 
corn, oats did a little better, that the land was so cold they 
could not raise much grain of any kind, but then it is very 
healthy P There was a moral to be gleaned from the closing 
remark of the boy. How little can be enjoyed, in a country, 
let the soil be ever so rich, and its productions luxuriant, if 
obtained by the sacrifice of health, and how sweet the coarsest 
food if seasoned with a good appetite. We could not help 
internally saying, — that is right my little fellow, always look 
at the bright side of the picture. 



148 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

There is a quarry of good building stone on Little River, 
about half a mile below Florence village. The town is hilly, 
but not mountainous. It is well watered with numerous 
springs and streams. 

Mad River is the most considerable stream in the town. 
It enters on its north line, and flowing quite through the 
town of Florence, passes into the town of Camden some little 
distance above Camden village. It is but a small stream 
where it enters the town, but swelled by its numerous little 
tributaries from the hill country on either side, it leaves the 
town a very considerable stream for water power. Little 
River is the name of the stream on which Florence village 
is situated. Although not large, still from its extensive fall, 
it is capable of turning quite an amount of machinery. It 
must not be confounded with its namesake which empties 
into Mad River from the west, between Camden village and 
McConnelsville. This Florence Little River which empties 
into Mad River on its easterly side, adds still more to the 
singularity of the names of the streams in the '• Fish Creek 
Nation," as this portion of the county has sometimes been 
called. Mad River, two Little Rivers, with numerous 
smaller streams united, meet Fish Creek at the Forks, when 
conjointly, they form but a creek to the Oneida Lake. 

By the act organizing the town of Florence, the first town 
meeting was to be held at the house of John Spinning. The 
town meeting was held agreeably to the terms of the act, on 
the first Tuesday in April, 1805. The meeting was held in 
a small framed house in which Mr. Spinning kept a tavern ; 
with its moss-grown roof it is yet standing. It is on the east 
side of the State Road, about two miles south-easterly from 
Florence village, and can readily be distinguished by the 
traveller by a large ornamental pine, that stands in such close 
contiguity as to nearly or quite touch one of its corners. At 



X.] FLORENCE. 149 

the first town meeting, Asa Jenkins was elected Supervisor, 
and David Young, Town Clerk. Mr. Jenkins held the office 
for six successive years. Then Benoni Barlow was elected 
at nine succeeding town meetings. It seems at the close of 
Mr. Barlow's services there was a vacancy, whether from his 
resignation or removal, does not appear by the records. 
Samuel Stanford was elected at a special town meeting to fill 
the vacancy, and served that and the succeeding year. Then 
Calvin Dawley held the office for five years, Amos Wood- 
worth (Junior.) six years, Simou Davis two years, Charles 
Curtiss two years, Safi"ord S. Delano two years, Nathan 
Thompson one year, Varnum Dunton one year, Anthony 
Empey two years, Daniel Gr. Dorrence two years, Watson 
Sammons one year, Aaron H. Thompson three years, and 
John DoAvnes, Jun., was elected in 1851, who is the present 
incumbent. 

The town owns the basement of the Baptist Church in the 
village, and use it for all town purposes, such as elections, 
town meetings, etc. 

Florence village is a small but thriving village, centrally 
located in the town. It contains between fifty and sixty 
dwelling houses, and about 300 inhabitants. It has two 
physicians, and a Catholic clergyman, three dry goods stores, 
Dne drug store, one clothing store attached to a tailor's shop, 
two blacksmith shops, two wagon and sleigh makers' shops, 
four boot and shoe shops, one harness and saddler's shop, and 
one cabinet shop. There are also in the limits of the village 
one grist and three saw mills. 

Its largest source of prosperity is its tanneries, the most 
extensive of which was formerly known as Stranahan's, but 
for the last three years owned and worked by the Hon. Lewis 
Rider, the present member of Assembly from the third 
district in this county. He has nearly or quite doubled the 



150 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

fimouut of business since he commenced, three years since. 
He employs from fifteen to twenty-five hands through the 
year. The present year he will tan from 26,000 to 28.000' 
fsides of sole leather. This is done on commission. He has 
on hand at the close of the winter of 1851, over 3,000 cords 
of hemlock bark. This cost two dollars per cord delirered. 
He uses also from 1,000 to 1,200 cords of wood in a year. 
The water power is insufficient to grind the large amount of 
bark needed in the establishment, so that recourse is had to 
a steam power for the remainder. 

Mr. John Sliter has a smaller tannery in which he man- 
ufactures both upper and sole leather. He tans 1.200 sides 
of sole, and 400 sides of upper and harness leather, 400 skins, 
and uses 150 cords of bark the present year. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The first church organization in the town of Florence was a 
Congregational Church on Florence Hill, December 16, 1816. 
At the time of its formation, it consisted of ten members- 
three males and seven females. When constituted, it was on 
the congregational plan of government, but early joined the 
Presbytery on the accommodation system. It had so increased, 
that it reported to the Presbytery, January 1, 1829, sixty- 
eight communicants, in 1832 and in 1834, seventy-two in 
each year. From this time it declined in numbers until 
1845, when it reported but forty members. From the time 
of its formation up to 1825, the church had no pastor, but 
was supplied with preaching quite a portion of the time by 
clergymen employed for different lengths of time. October 
7, 1825, they gave the Rev. Samuel Sweezy a call to settle 
with them. A society in connection with the church was; 



X.] FLORENCE. 151 

formedJanuary 26, 1826, and forthwith became incorporated 
under the statute. Mr. Sweezy, having accepted the call 
was installed March 8, 1826. At a society meeting, held 
February 6, 1826, a vote of thanks to Gerrit Smith was 
passed, "for furnishing part of the glass, a site for the meet- 
ing house, a liberal lot for a burying place, thirty acres of 
land for the benefit of the society, fifty acres to the Rev. 
Samuel Sweezy, and a subscription of ten dollars a year for 
the support of the Gospel." 

In 1825, the meeting house on the hill was commenced, 
but was not completed under two or three years. The Rev. 
Mr. Sweezy now resides in Camden, and the church has lost 
its visibility. 

Methodist Episcopal. — There are no records of this deno- 
mination to be found earlier than 1832, still it had organiza- 
tions in the town of a much earlier date. 

The first class formed was on the Hill, and about thirty- 
five years since. For a time it flourished, and then for quite 
a space it languished, but of late has revived. In the village 
there is a class of about thirty years' standing. They have 
a small, yet neat and convenient, chapel for worship, which 
was erected in 1833. There is another class in the town, of 
about thirty years' standing, on Mad River, which meets 
about ftree miles below the village. For a time it has been 
in a low state. Although not large, all of these classes are 
now active, flourishing, and prosperous. 

Baptists. — There was a church of this denomination 
formed in this town previous to 1828, but the precise time of 
its organization can not be ascertained. In that year it 
belonged to the Oneida Baptist Association, and reported to 
that body twen-ty-four members, and that Roger Maddock, a 



152 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

licentiate, was preaching to them. Mr. Maddock labored 
with this church until 183K when he was returned as an 
ordained preacher. In 1835 it reported sixty-four members, 
and James B. Olcott as preacher. This was the largest 
utiniber to which it arrived. 

In 183;6, Penison Alcott, a licentiate, as preacher, and 
fifty-throe members. In 1837, Benjamin Fuller as preacher, 
and fiity-five members. Mr. Fuller continued his labors to 
this people for a numiber of years. The last time this body 
reported to the Association was in 1841, when it had become 
reduced to thirty-four members. For a number of years it 
has lost its visibility. In its palmy days it erected a very 
respectable house for worship in the village. 

lu 1833, the denomination started a school for the edu- 
cation of young men, combining somewhat of the manual 
labor system. 

In 1834, they erected a large three story stone building 
for the school. The school, however, prospered for but a 
few years, and at length was discontinued for want of patron- 
age. Some few years since, the Catholics purchased this 
Iniilding for a church, and it is now surmounted with a cross. 
At this time a majority of the inhabitants of Florence 
are Catholics, and the clergyman of that denomination in 
Florence village is the only one sustained in the town. 

• 



PiEMiNLScENCES. — The- name of Nathan Thompson, one ot 
the early settlers of Florence, who moved into the town in 
the spring of 1802, has been mentioned. He was a native 
of New London, Ct., but had lived the most of his life time 
lUitil his removal, in Sandisfield, Mass. When he arrived, 
there was but one house between that of John W. Bloom- 



X.^ FLORENCE. 153 

field, Esq., at what is now Taberg, and the house of John 
Spinning, two miles easterly from Florence village, a dis- 
tance, by the route then travelled, of about twenty-two miles. 
The name of this settler was John Rogers. Mr. Thompson 
says he had to depend entirely upon wild game for his supply 
of animal food. With his gun he selected with care the 
fattest and sleekest from the numerous herd of deer that 
then abounded in the forest. 

The 1 1th of July, 1809, was an eventful day to our settler. 
Indeed, the preservation of his life would seem almost mira- 
culous. He was engaged in drawing wood to his door, with 
a single horse, by draughts. When about to hitch the chain 
to one, the horse started, and the hook of the chain caught 
through the flesh, and taking up the tendons under his left 
knee. Thus fastened, the beast drew him at full speed along 
a crooked path, over knolls, and through the mire, a distance 
of twenty-five rods, when it was brought to a pause by a 
fence that crossed the track, but was evidently preparing to 
leap it, when Mr. Thompson, whose presence of mind had 
not forsaken him, disengaged the hook before the plunge, 
and thus escaped almost certain death. 

He was taken into the house, and was confined to his bed 
four months. The wound was a most frightful one, of full 
ten inches in length, while the tendons were loosened from 
their ligaments from the knee to the heel. His back and 
arms were terribly lacerated. The celerity of the ride was 
such, that some persons who soon examined the route, found 
that in a number of instances he cleared by actual measure- 
ment ten feet at a bound. The hideous scar attests in full 
the truth of the statement. 

The sterility of the soil has been noticed. The following 
ludicrous description of the failure of a portion of the first 
settlers, it is presumed, will not be entirely uninteresting to 



154 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the reader. The author travelled through this town iu June. 
1813, and called at Thompson's tavern to refresh himself and 
beasts. Our landlord was busy in attending to the out-door 
duties of the establishment, while his good lady assumed 
occasionally some of the duties in the bar. Between Fish 
Creek and our stopping place, we had observed that about one 
half of the log domicils had been abandoned, and were tenant- 
less. The landlady was appealed to for the reasons for so 
general a desertion. With much sang-froid she replied, '• that 
some were too lazy to work and had to clear out to keep from 
starving, others of this class, rather than starve, would steal 
a yoke of oxen, and they had to be sent to State's Prison, but 
the greater part failed, in not knowing how to farm it on such 
land, for they did not know that sorrel seed was worth more to 
them l)y the bushel than clover seed, because more natural to 
the soil." 

In 1845 there were two grist mills, ten saw mills, and 
tliree aslieries in the town. 



XI.] FLOYD. 155 



CHAPTER XI. 

FLOYD. 

This town was named in honor of Generxil William Floyd, 
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a 
sketch of whose biography is given in the history of the town 
of Western, Chap. XXVII. G-en. Floyd was the owner by 
purchase of considerable land in this town in Fonda's Patent, 
and among which were a 500 acre lot, upon which. "Floyd 
Corners" is located ; also another 500 acre lot, and quite a 
number of other lots ; but how much in the aggregate, has 
not been ascertained. 

After making the most careful and diligent inquiry, the 
author has been unable to ascertain the year in which the 
first settler moved into the town, or the name of the pioneer 
who led in advance the "forlorn hope" into its forests. 
However, from the best information obtained, it is probable 
that Capt. Benjamin Pike was the first settler, and that he 
removed into the town in the year 1790. Not much later, 
however, Stephen Moulton, the younger, settled in the town. 
Shortly after, but in what year could not be ascertained, 
William Allen, Nathaniel Allen, and James Chase, arrived 
in the town together. Mrs. Allen, the relict of William 
Allen, is yet living. She says that when they arrived, Capt. 
Benjamin Pike, Elisha Lake, and a man named Howard, 
resided below the present residence of Linus Moulton. At 
a very early period, two brothers of the name of Howard 



156 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COXmXV. [CHAP. 

resided about half a mile east of the Corners. Not much 
later, Hope Smith settled in the town. He was the father 
of Stephen R. Smith, one of the earliest and most popular 
Universalist preachers in the county. 

David Byam, James Bartlett, and a Mr. Putney, were the 
earliest settlers in the north part of the town. Jarvis Pike, 
a son of Capt. Benjamin Pike, if he did not move into the 
town with his father, very soon followed him.* 

As early as February, 1 795, the different members of the 
Moulton family from Stafford, Connecticut, had settled in 
this town. As before mentioned, Stephen Moulton the 
younger was among the earliest settlers. Within five years 
after his arrival, his father, Stephen Moulton, and four 
other sons, Salmon, Joseph, Benjamin, and Ebenezer, had 
moved into the town. Stephen, Sen., and Stephen, Jiin., 
and Joseph and Benjamin (twins), are dead. The obituary 
of Stephen the younger is given at the close of this chapter. 
Salmon, now ninety-three years of age, and Ebenezer, aged 
eighty-one years, yet reside in the town. Salmon (May, 
1851) enjoys good health, but is so far deprived of hearing, 
that the author, after repeated efforts, gave up in despair of 
gleaning from the fund of important reminiscences he pos- 
sessed of the early settlement of Floyd. The Moulton 
family were among the staunchest Whigs of the Revolutiou 
in the land of " steady habits," and sacrificed much in the 
cause of their country. Salmon was taken prisoner on Long 
Island, and suffered all the horrors of a confinement in the 
"Sugar House," a place more noted for the suffering of its 
inmates than the " Black Hole " of Calcutta, because more 
protracted. A more particular notice of the sufferings of the 

* A lease was shown the author, executed by William Floj'd to 
Jarvis Pike, of a lot northerly from the " Corners," dated at Whites, 
town, Herkimer County, October 26, 1793. 



XI.] TLOYD. 157 

American prisoners in the " Sugar House," is given in the 
history of Westmoreland, in speaking of Capt. Phineas Bell. 
Mr. Moulton was kept so short of provisions, that he and his 
compatriots used to chew pieces of the oak staves of the 
sugar casks left in their prison, for the little nutriment they 
contained. His father, Col. Stephen Moulton, was after- 
wards taken prisoner at (as is understood) Fort Washington, 
and there confined. After a tedious confinement in the 
"Sugar House," Salmon was paroled to leave for Fort Wash- 
ington, and soon after both father and son were paroled to go 
to their homes. 

William Allen, Esq., whose name has been introduced as 
one of the earliest settlers of this town, died about seven 
years since. His former acquaintances assured the writer, 
that if he had been applied to while living, a much more 
perfect early history of Floyd could have been obtained than 
from any source now left, as his retentive memory was well 
stored with much that was useful and entertaining. 

Samuel Dyer, Esq., was one of the early settlers of this 
town. After a number of years' residence, he sold his farm, 
and removed to what is now the town of Marcy. He was a 
man of great good sense, yet it seems that neither Philomela 
nor Orpheus had very nicely attuned his ear to the harmony 
of "sweet sounds." Upon one occasion. Esquire Dyer was 
at the office of the late Thomas R. Gold, in Whitesboro. 
Mt. Gold had just purchased for his daughters a piano, 
which was among the first, if not the first, brought into the 
county. Mr. Gold gave Esquire Dyer an invitation to go 
to his house, to listen to the music of the instrument. The 
invitation was accepted, although it is probable no very rich 
treat was anticipated. Awhile the "many strings" of the 
instrument were made to vibrate the richest music, from the 
delicate touches of the daughter. Mr. Gold, in raptures. 



158 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

asks lii3 guest if he had ever heard such charming music 
Lefore. "Yes, yes," was the prompt reply. What could it 
have been ? was now asked, and the response given, " That 
of half a dozen men whetting their scythes in my meadow 
before breakfast." 

Captain Nathan Townsend moved into Floyd in 1801, and 
settled upon the farm now owned and occupied by his son, 
William Townsend, in the south-easterly part of the town. 
This farm was purchased of Governor George Clinton, who 
had previously purchased the whole of Sumner's Patent, 
which was located between Holland Patent and Fonda's 
Patent. Gen. Floyd's purchases were made from the last- 
named Patent, which was located in the central and westerly 
parts of the town. Previous to Capt. Townsend's purchase 
of this lot, one Turner Ellis had been in possession of it, as 
a squatter. 

Capt. Townsend is ' yet living at Holland Patent village, 
aged eighty-six. He has had seven sons, viz.: — Gardner, 
who resides near Holland Patent ; William, who resides on 
the homestead in Floyd ; Halsey, who died at the South ; 
Palmer, an extensive importing hard-ware merchant in 
New York ; Ingham, a large farmer, who resides upon the 
road from Floyd Corners to Holland Patent ; Nathaniel, a 
resident of New Orleans ; and Nathan, a resident of Cam- 
den, in this county. 

Thomas Bacon was an early settler in that part of the 
town known as Floyd Hill. For a time this locality was 
known as Bacon's Hill, from this early inhabitant. Samuel 
Cummiugs was also a very early settler upon the Hill. 



Geology. — There is nothing peculiar in the geological 
formation of this town, there being neither ores, minerals, or 



XI.] FLOYD. 15? 

stone quarries within its limits. The extensive quarries of 
stone at Stittville, and other parts of Trenton, in the im- 
mediate vicinity of Floyd, together with the liberal supj)ly 
of bowlders upon the Hill, in a good degree remedy the lack 
of building stones. 

If ever the lake existed, from the Little Falls uniting with 
the Oneida Lake, its northern shore must have been a little 
north of the site of the road running from Floyd Corners to 
Holland Patent. The ii^ications are here strongly in favor 
of- the speculation. 

There are no better or more beautiful farms in Oneida 
County than those upon this road. Judging from their high 
state of cultivation, the symmetry, and good condition of the 
farms, the elegance and convenience of their buildings, their 
owners are not only thriving, but wealthy. From this sec- 
tion to the summit of the Hill, the land is better for pastur- 
age and dairying than for grain, and the agriculturalists are 
adapting their farming to their soil, and thrift is manifest in 
their progress. 

The first death in the limits of the town, was that of a Mr, 
Foster, who died from disease. The second was that of 
Nathan Thompson, who was killed while falling a tree. In 
the latter part of the summer of 1796, the dysentery pre- 
vailed among the few inhabitants of the town. Col. Stephen 
Moulton, Sen., lost his wife, and his son Benjamin lost three 
children, with this disease. The four died within the same week. 

The town of Floyd was taken from Steuben, and organized 
by au act of the Legislature, passed March 4, 1796, its first 
town meeting to be held at the house of Samuel J. Curtiss. 
The first town meeting was held the same spring, and 
Stephen Moulton, Sen., was elected Supervisor, and Moses 
Cofieen Town Clerk. 

The town records for 1797 are lost. 



160 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

In 1798 and 1799, Abel French held the office of Super- 
visor. 

In 1800, Jarvis Pike was elected Supervisor, and held the 
office for eleven successive years. Since that period, the 
following persons have held the office for the terms specified : 

In 1812, Nathan Townsend, Sen. In 1813, Ephraim 
Robbins was elected, and held the office until 1819 inclusive. 
In 1820 and 1821, Nathan Townsend again. In 1822, 
1823, and 1824, Ephraim RobbiiK again. From 1825 to 
1832 inclusive, Salmon Pelton, and from 1833 to 1837 in- 
clusive, David Moulton were elected. In 1838 and 1839, 
Samuel C. Brooker. In 1840, 1841, and 1842, David Moul- 
ton again. In 1843 and 1844, Hosea Clark. In 1845, 
David Moulton was again elected, and has been re-elected in 
each year to the present time (1851), making fifteen years 
that the present incumbent has held the office. 

The first tavern in the town was kept at the Corners, by 
Capt. Benjamin Pike. He kept it, however, but for a short 
time, and was succeeded by Moses Coffeen, who continued in 
the business at that place for several years. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES, AND HOUSES FOR. PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

At the Corners there is a very respectable "Union" house 
for public worship. The articles of agreement under which 
this house was erected, are quite peculiar. Each slip in the 
house has an appraised and relative value, and is trans- 
ferable by purchase. On the first Monday in January in 
each year, the proprietors meet, and each has a right to de- 
signate the denomination he wishes to occupy the house 
during the year. After a list is thus completed, it is ascer- 
tained, in proportion to the value of the slips owned, what 



XI.] PLOYD. ICl 

proportion each denomination shall occupy fof the ensuing 
year. Some years, the Presbyterians, Baptists', Methodists, 
and Universalists, have each put in their claims, and had the 
house in proportion. The present year (1851), the Meth- 
odists have the house three-fourths, and the Baptists one- 
fourth, of the time. As far as ascertained, the action of the 
proprietors has been quite harmonious, however uni(|ue their 
model. 

The Baptists have a small meeting hou-se upon the Hill, 
where they maintain worship when they do not occupy the 
house at the Corners. This Church was organized in 1807, 
under the care of Elder Simeon Jacobs, and in 18 16 num- 
bered eighty-three members, of whoni twenty-two had been 
baptized the preceding year. From that time, for many 
years, no materials for its history have been found. Elder 
R. Z. Williams was pastor in 1841 and 1842, Elder Isaiah 
Matteson in 1843, Elder V. D. Waters in 1844, Elder 
Josiah Hatt in 1846, and Elder Thomas Applegate in 1847. 
In 1850 61 members were reported. 

The Welsh Methodists and the Welsh Presbyterians have 
each a small house for worship on the Hill. And here, as in 
other sections of the county where the Welsh have settled, 
they maintain their national character, in sustaining the 
public worship of the God of their fathers. 

The common schools in Floyd have been well sustained 
and flourishing, until that unequal law, termed the " Free 
School Law," was passed in 1849. Since then, they have but 
fchared the calamity with all the towns in the State, of having 
the cause of popular education rapidly retrograde. 

There are nine school districts, and parts of districts, in 
the town. 

11 



162 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciUr. 

Floyd Corners is the only place in the town which aspires 
to the dignity of being termed a village. Here arc a small 
collection of dwelling houses and mechanic shops, a church, 
school house, store, and tavern. The Floyd post office is 
kept here ; it is the only office in the town. 

The Nine Mile Creek forms a portion of the southern 
boundary, and passes through a small section of the south- 
west part of the town. The first mill erected in Floyd was 
upon this stream, at a location known as the Punch Bowl. 
According to the census of 1845, there were, at that time, 
one grist mill and three saw mills in the town. 

The following obituaries of early settlers in Floyd were 
published at the time they bear date in the Home iientincl, 
and are copied with the belief they will be interesting to tlie 
readei". 

"DiKD, in Floyd, on the 12th of December, 1849, Mr. Samuel 
Dcnison, aged 70 years. 

" Mr. Dciiison was one of the early settlers of this county, having 
resided, we think, on the same farm fur almost half a century. Al- 
though not the first, the town of Floyd was one of the earliest settled 
towns in the county ; but its pioneers, many of whom have lived to a 
good old age, are dropping away, and a few years more will have 
removed all of them from the scenes of their early adventures, and 
the home of thoir manhood and old ago. Mr. Denison located in 
Floyd in the year 1800, or forty-nine years ago. Several othere came 
about the same time, a few prior to his arrival, and others soon after ; 
but we regret that we have not the information necessary to a correct 
account of the men and the occurrences of that early period. 

" Among the first settlers were Nathan Townsend, .James Chase, 
Nathaniel and William Allen, Latham and Samuel Denison, Salraoa 
Moulton, and, we believe, also the grandfather of Col. David Moul- 
tou, whose first name we do not now remember. There are doubtless 
several others, whose names will occur to those longer and better 
acquainted with the early history of the town. These settlements 
were made in different parts of the town, while it was yet a wilder- 
ness, and while the whole county was nearly in the same condition. 
There were settlements of several years' standing in AVhitcstown, (by 
jviiich name all the county north and west of Utica was then called.) 



XT.] FLOYD. 163 

Fort Stamvix, (now Rome.) Western, Westmoreland, etc. ; but the 
population was sparse, and neighbors few and far between. It M^as 
at that day not unusual for the citizens of Floyd to go with ox teams 
to Western, Lee, and other distant town.s, to meeting, a task which 
our present inhabitants would hardly feel willing to accomplish. 

" Of the i)ioneer settlers named above, only two now remain, Mr. 
Salmon Moulton and Cap't. Townsend, the former still residing in 
Floyd, and the latter at Holland Patent, having retired from his 
farm several years ago. Mr. Chase died many years ago, the two 
Mr. Aliens about six years since, at an advanced age, and Mr. Latham 
Denison some four or five years ago. Mr. Samuel Denison, whose 
recent death has led to this brief and imperfect narrative, had con- 
tinued to reside on the farm where he first located, and to enjoy the 
esteem and respect of his townsmen and aciiuaintance, until his death 
on Tuesday last. His health had for the past three or four year.s 
been seriously impaired, although sucli as to admit of the superin- 
tendence of his farm and 'business aftairs. He was celebrated for 
the skill and intelligence with which he conducted his farm, and for 
many years has been a constant subscriber to agricultural papers, 
which he has perused with much interest, while those younger and 
less experienced have steadily rejected all such aids. 

" How few of our first settlers, of those who cleared up the wil- 
derness, and who have literally made this county to " bud and blos- 
som like the rose," now remain among us. Let us appreciate the 
services, the toils, and privations, as well as imitate the virtues of 
those who have departed, while we respect and minister to the com- 
fort of those who remain among us." 



" Anotuer Revolutionmry P.^triot Gonk. — Died, at his residence 
in Floyd, N. Y., on the 1st of February, 1851, Stephen Moulton, for- 
merly from Statibrd, Ct., aged 91 years, of inflammation of the lungs. 

" He was a member of the celebrated band of musicians of the 
Revolutionary army, under Mr. Timothy Olmstead. He emigrated to 
Floyd sixty-one years since, was one of the pioneer settlers of the 
county, and has occupied the same farm from that period. He was 
never sick until his la.'-t sickness, but at all times enjoyed health and 
vigor during a long life, and often boasted that ' the doctors were 
no richer for him, as he never took a portion of their medicine.' He 
was very spry and active to an advanced age, and at the season, 
walked over in the morning from his dwelling to this village, [Rome,] 
some seven miles, priding himselY upon being the first to execute 
his pension papers, on the 4th of March and September. He was 



1G4 ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr, 

lionest and particiilar in his business transactions, and very cautious 
:ind unwilling to contract a debt ; was a kind, considerate, and 
obliging neighbor, luisband, and father. He had the hapi)y faculty 
to ' drive away dull care,' and always a fund of anecdotes to instruct 
and amuse those around him, enjoying, as he was wont, a hearty 
laugh with unmeasured satisfaction. His death occurred about four 
weeks after tlie attack, and such was the strengtli of his constitution, 
that his muscular ])owcrs were in some force for twelve or fifteen 
hours after his pulse had apparently ceased." 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 165 



CHAPTER XII. 

KIRKLAND. 

This is a most interesting section of the county. Its 
tC'ollege and seminaries of learning render it, not only the 
literary and scientific emporium of Oneida County, but of 
central New York. The religious societies of the town are 
of the highest order, and their early records show them as 
models for their eotemporarios and successors. 

The settlement of this town was commenced in March, 
1787, the first emigration having consisted of eight families, 
i^ome little uncertainty exists as to the names of all the 
heads of these eight families, but as to five of them there 
is no dispute. Moses Foot and his three sons, Bronson. 
Luther, and Ira, and his son-in-law Barnabas Pond, were of 
the number ; and there is but little doubt that Levi Shear- 
man and Solomon Kovey were two of the eight; but whether 
Ludiin Blodget or Timothy Tuttle made the eighth, must 
remain a matter of uncertainty. But this is a question of 
A'ery trifling importance, for in the month of April succeed- 
ing, we find th'C names of Blodget and Tuttle, Samuel Hub- 
bard, Randall Lewis, Cordial Storrs, John Bullen, and Capt. 
■Cassety, father of Col. Cassety, — the pioneer of Oriskany 
Falls, — among the settlers. Capt. Moses Foot was tlie lead- 
ing spirit of the emigrants. 

In the fall previous (1786), an exploring party of the 
.«etitlers came from the German Flats to Paris Hill, following 



166 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

thus far the ''Old Moyer Road," an Indian trail leading 
from BuiFalo to the valley of the Mohawk, at a place some 
distance below Utica, where a Dutchman named Moyer kept 
a tavern. The exploring party left Paris Hill and came to 
the elevated plain near where Daniel P. Northrop and the 
widow Mary Baird now reside, and here the party divided, 
a part wishing to commence operations at this place, while 
the others proceeded to the site of the park, or "green," in 
the centre of the village of Clinton, equally determined there 
to commence the settlement. A committee was appointed 
by eacli party, who met upon the banks of the small creek 
near where Scott's slaughter house now stands, but neither 
would yield, and they returned to their constituents without 
having effected a compromise. Subsequently other delegates 
were appointed by each, who settled the dispute, and the 
location of Clinton village was agreed upon for their future 
residence. Tradition asserts that, in the fall of 178G, Ludim 
Blodget commenced building a log house upon the ground 
where the widow Philena Catlin now resides. On the 27th 
of February, a few days previously to the arrival of Capt. 
Moses Foot and his party, James Bronson visited the site 
of Clinton Green. Exhausted by his rambles in exploi\ig 
the country, he contrived to construct a shelter by the side 
of the upturned roots of a large hemlock. He was the first 
white person Avho ever slept in the village of Clinton, and 
so well pleased was he with the place, that he afterwards 
settled where his grandson Boswell now resides, opposite 
the Liberal Institute. 

But to return to the first settlers. Habitations were first 
to be provided. Huts constructed with crotches and poles, 
and sided and roofed with bark, destitute of floors, doons, or 
windows, were their first domicils. Ludim Blodget com- 
pleted the log cabin he had commenced the fall previous. 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 167 

and although built of logs, and covered, as were the huts, 
with bark, it bore quite an aristocratic appearance among its 
more plebeian neighbors just described. 

Mrs. Solomon Hovey was tlie first female who arrived, 
and of course something extra had to be provided for the 
accommodation of her table furniture and wardrobe. Her 
husband felled a large hollow basswood, which grew a few 
feet west from where the Kirkland Bank now stands, and cut- 
ting off a piece of the proper length, split and hewed off one 
of its sides ; this, raised upon end, with a number of shelves 
fitted into it, and placed by the side of their hut, was found 
admirably contrived for a pantry, cupboard, and clothes 
press. A street was laid out, extending north and south, 
from Royee Mansion to the dwelling of Mrs. Hays. To each 
family was set apart a lot of two acres upon this street, and 
upon these lots the first apologies for houses were erected. 

Soon afterwards, and in the nest year, additional lots of 
eight acres each, adjoining the two acre lots, were set apart 
to the several families. 

As soon as their first rude shelters were provided, the 
settlers fell zealously to wrirk to clear for each a piece of 
land, upon which to raise vegetables, and a crop of Indian 
corn. The lofty forest trees which had withstood the storms 
of centuries, were laid low by the blows of the sturdy axe- 
men. In the course of the summer, the place, by common 
consent, was named Clinton, in honor of George Clinton, 
who was then Governor of the State, and who was largely 
interested in various tracts of land in the present limits of 
the county, some of which were located in the present bounds 
of Kirkland. It may not be improper in this place to men- 
tion, that George Washington, the beloved father of his 
country, was the joint owner with Gov. Clinton of quite a 
number of now valuable farms in Oneida County. The lot 



168 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

No. 14 in tlie 5tli grautl division of Coiseboi'-ough of 31G 
ucros, and coiaposing the furm of the late Nathaniel Griffin, 
of this town, was held by a deed directly frsm President 
WashiDgton and Gov. Clinton.. The author has seen this 
deed, signed by the hands of George "Washington and Gov. 
Clinton, and witnessed by Tobias Lear and De Witt Clin- 
ton, dated July 22, 1790. Within five years past, 1,000 
acres of the Mount Yernon estate have been sold, to a com- 
pany of Friends at ^25 per acre. Washington could hardly 
have anticipated that these cheap wild lands in the vicinity 
fif the Oneidas would, within half a century, readily sell for 
twice, and in some instances three times, the price per aers 
of his beloved Mount Yernor,.. 

The nearest mill was Wetmore's, at Whitestown, about 
seven miles distant from Clinton, and at the time of the 
commencement of the settlement, there was no road to it, 
a^^d for portions of the distance there was not even an 
Indian trail through the tangled forests and miry swamps. 
To go to mill and return, was a hard day's joui-ney, especially 
when, for lack of horses, the grain was borne on the back of 
the owner. Capt. Foot was the owner of the first and only 
horse in the place, and this '-sorry jade" was soon stolen by 
the Indians. In the month of June, 1787, a party of the 
settlers turned out and cleared a road sufficient for the 
passage of an ox cart, and the next day Samuel Hubbard 
drove the first team to Whitestown, and returned with six 
Inishek of corn. The same season, Capt. Cassety built a 
.small grist mill ou the east side of the Oriskany, a short 
distance above tho site of the factory of Barton and Tracy. 
By September it was so far coaipleted as to be ready to 
commence business, when Samuel Hubbard, Ludim Blodget, 
Jesse Catlin, and Salmon Butler, each shelled a peck of 
corn, of wliicli they made a joint grist, and then cast Lots t* 



XII.] « KIRKLAND. 169 

determine whose slioulders should bear the precious grain 
to the mill. The lot fell upon Samuel Hubbard, who forth- 
with carried it to the mill, and as it was the first grist, im- 
memorial custom decreed that it must be ground free of 
toll. This was the first grist mill west of German Flats, 
except Wetmore's, at Whitestown. 

A saw mill was erected, either the same or the succeeding 
season, a short distance above the grist mill, drawing water 
from the same pond. 

On Sunday, the 8th day of April, 1787, the first religious 
meeting was held, at the half completed log cabin of Capt. 
Foot. This rude edifice stood upon the spot now occupied 
by the tin shop and printing office. Capt. Foot commenced 
the services by prayer ; Bronson Foot, Barnabas Pond, and 
Ludim Blodget were the principal singers ; and Caleb Mer- 
rills, who had settled near the place now known as Middle 
Settlement, read a sermon. From that day to the present, 
there are probably very few places where the Lord's-day 
has been more appropriately and religiously observed. 
Public worship, with scarcely an interruption, has been well 
attended and maintained. 

The summer passed away and autumn came ; but how 
changed ! What in March was an unbroken forest^ now 
showed the germ of a thriving settlement. The numerous 
little openings and clearings, — the fences, indeed not very 
ornamental, surrounding fields of ooru dotted with the 
yellow pumpkins, — 'the blue smoke ascending from perhaps 
twenty log houses and cabins, — showed distinctly that other 
than the red man was there, and that the new settlers were 
of the genuine persevering Anglo-Saxon race. 

The settlers were becoming contented and happy. Con- 
trasted with New England's bleak hills, their location was 
fast becoming an El Dorado. Home, with all its sweet 



170 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY.' [CHAP. 

associations, it was fast becoming. The autlior remembers, 
something more than twelve years since, of meeting INIr. Eli 
Bristol, one of the pioneers of Clinton. " How is your good 
old father?" was the first inquiry. Upon being informed 
that he was in usual health, Mr. Bristol resumed, "Tell him 
from me, that I want to see him once more before I die. I 
am now more than eighty-five, and I can not expect to live 
much longer. We are now both so deaf,' that we can not 
converse together, but I want to see him. Tell him also 
that I remember that the first twelve years I spent in this 
country, were the twelve happiest years of my life." Sucli 
was the universal testimony of the pioneers of Oneida. 
They say " all were on a level." An aristocrat can not 
breathe the air of a new settlement. 

The early settlers of Clinton, living as they did almo,<t 
beyond the pale of civilization, and beyond the limits of any 
organized town, early bethought themselves of the necessity 
of some compact or civil polity, for the preservation of order 
and quiet in their isolated settlement. 

The author found the following articles among the papers 
of his uncle, the late Isaac Jones, who was one of the first 
settlers in Clinton. Such was the scarcity of paper, and 
rigid economy of the times, that they were written upon the 
margin of the pages of a pamphlet, and doubtless they were 
the original and rough draft. 

'• Whereas, Capt. Moses Foot, and some others, formerly 
of ye State of Connecticut, did last fall find a good and con- 
venient place for a large settlement in Coxeborough, County 
of Montgomery, State of New York ; and whereas, the said 
Foot did contract with John Lansing, Jun., of Albany, in ye 
State aforesaid, for a large tract of land, sufiicient for a con- 
siderable number of inhabitants, and did invite his acquaint- 
ances and others to join with him in the purchase and 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 171 

settlement of said land : Therefore, we, whose names arc. 
underwritten, being about to take the benefit of said invi- 
tation, for our future safety and benefit with regard to buying 
said land, and other internal business amongst ourselves, do 
by these presents covenant with each other, jointly and 
severally, that we will be under the following rules, regula- 
tions, or by-laws, viz. : — 

" We will, as soon as may be, meet and choose a Secretary, 
whose business it shall be to record all our public papers, 
votes, &c., and said record shall be binding on us all ; said 
Secretary must be sworn to the faithful discharge of his 
trust, and serve for one year. 

'• 2. Any seven persons shall have liberty to call the pro- 
prietors or company together, and the Secretary shall, by 
their application, issue out a warrant for a meeting at least 
four days before said meeting. 

"3. Three copies of said warrant, set up in the most pub- 
lic places of our settlement, shall be deemed a sufiicient 
warning while we live as compact as at present ; and every 
article of business to be done shall be inserted in said war- 
rants, that the members may have time to consider of them, 
and be in some manner prepared to give their opinion, and 
it shall not be lawful to act on any business not mentioned 
in the warrants. 

'• 4. In all matters of debate, the moderator shall allow 
every member to have his turn to speak, provided he does it 
in an orderly manner. 

'•5. No votes shall be recorded, or be binding, except two- 
thirds of the members are of a mind. 

'•G. Upon the consideration of Capt. Foot's taking us in 
as partners with him, we agree to pay him the account he 
has kept in cash in procuring said land, that is, labor for his 
time, and cash to the amount of what he has expended." 



172 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

In 1788, about twenty families were added to the num- 
ber. This was most cheering and brightening t-o their 
prospects. 

When the location was agreed upon in the fall of 1 78G, 
they supposed that they were not within the limits of any 
patent, and that the land had never been surveyed. They 
characterized themselves as squatters, but presumed upon 
the benefit of the pre-emption right. Upon exploring and 
clearing up the land, they however soon discovered lines of 
marked trees, and during the second season they ascertained 
that they were on Coxe's Patent, a tract of land granted by 
the colony of New York, on the 30th of May, 1770, to Dan- 
iel Coxe, William Coxe, Rebecca Coxe, and John Tabor 
Kempe and Grace his wife, and by them had been surveyed 
into lots. 

Clinton was found to be on the "two thousand and sixteen 
acres tract," and by this descriptive name it is still known 
by the older inhabitants and surveyors. It was based upon 
the Oriskany Creek on the west, extending east to Daniel 
P. Northrup's, north to Solomon Grleason's, and south as far 
as Mrs. Hays'. 

The most unpleasant part of the discovery was yet to be 
made. The tract had been surveyed into twenty lots of 
equal size, and the proprietors had oiTered to give the tract 
to any company of twenty families who would make a per- 
manent settlement upon it. 

After this state of things had been discovered by the 
settlers, they entertained strong hopes of realizing the benefit 
of this offer ; but the patentees ascertaining that the settle- 
ment had been made in ignorance of their offer, the settlers 
were required to pay ten shillings per acre. 

In the summer of 1788, therefore, Capt. Foot was sent 
to Philadelphia to make the necessary contracts for the pur- 



XIl] KinKLAND. 1 73 

chase of the whole tract, and eventually the several lots were 
taken by the different settlers. The site of the village was 
on a triangular piece, called the "handkerchief lot," from its 
resemblance to a half handkerchief, and was purchased by 
Capt. Foot. 

If the settlers were happy and contented, they also came 
in for their share of grief allotted to humanity. In the 
spring of this year '-the insatiate archer" sent a shaft into 
their secluded settlement, and he rarely assumes a more 
distressing or heart-rending form. The bow was not drawn 
at venture, for, as the poet writes, 

" Death loves a shining mark." 

Miss Merab Tuttle, aged 17, daughter of Col. Timothy 
Tuttle, who owned and resided upon the Eoyce farm, was 
drowned in the Oriskany Creek. The circumstances were 
briefly these: — Miss Tuttle and Miss Anna Foot, daughter 
of Capt. Moses Foot, started late in the afternoon to make a 
call at Mr. William Cook's, who resided on the west bank of 
the creek, in a log house which stood near the site of the house 
formerly owned by Mr. J. Herrick, and at present occupied 
]iy J^Ir. John Nettleton. For lack of perfumed French hair 
powder for their toilet, they called on their way at Cassety's 
mill, and with the mill-dust whitened their locks, as for 
some gala day. Though now obsolete, such then was the 
fashion. At that time no bridge spanned the stream from 
its source to its mouth. The settlers had felled two trees 
across, a little below the site of the bridge on the road to 
the college. When the girls arrived at the crossing place, 
they found the stream swollen from the spring freshet and 
recent rains, and its turbid waters were rushing and foaming 
madly down its channel. At first they quailed, but Miss 
Foot, the more courageous of the two, soon led the way, 



174 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [CHAP. 

followed by her companion. When near the middle of the 
stream, Miss Foot heard from her friend the exclamation, 
" 0, dear, my head swims !" which was instantly followed 
by a splash in the water, and turning, saw her struggling in 
the current. 3Iiss Foot gave such loud and prolonged cries 
for help, that she was distinctly heard through the woods at 
Miss Tuttle's residence. Mr. Cook, who happened to be at 
his house, either witnessing the accident, or attracted by the 
cries, sprang into the. stream to rescue the drowning girl, 
and nearly succeeded in grasping her by her clothes, when 
the current drew her from his sight under a pile of drift 
wood. Instant and continued search was made for the body. 
The blacksmith made hooks, which were fastened in the ends 
of long poles, with which to drag the stream. These were 
unsuccessfully plied through the whole night. In the morn- 
ing the remains of the unfortunate young lady were found, 
drawn under a pile of drift wood, near the site of the Clinton 
Factory. Few eyes slept in Clinton that night. Intelli- 
gence of the accident was sent to their neighbors at Dean's 
Settlement, in Westmoreland, as also the time appointed for 
the funeral. At the time named, many of the few settlers 
on Dean's Patent attended. The late Nehemiah Jones, 
father of the author, when about to start, and knowing there 
could be no clergyman expected, (as probably there was 
none west of Albany.) took with him a volume of sermons, in 
which was one preached ou the occasion of a young man 
being drowned. . At the funeral he was requested to read 
that sermon, and after a prayer by Capt. Foot, he did so. 
The text upon which the sermon was founded, was 1 Samuel 
XX. 3 : " There is but a step between me and death." Her 
grave was first dug on the "green," but it being thought too 
wet, she was buried in the south part of the present burying 
ground, which was then a part of her father's farm. Major 



Xn.] KIRKLAND. 175 

Barnabas Pond, but a few years before bis death, informed 
the author that he dug her grave, and that he dug every 
grave in that burial ground until there had been over one 
hundred interments. 

There were few or none of those fevers in the settlement, 
the scourge of many of the new settlements in the west and 
far west. The second death was that of Thomas Fancher, 
Jun., who was killed by a falling tree, in 1791 ; and the 
third was that of Mrs. Mercy Stebbins, wife of Judah Steb- 
bins, Jun., aged 26 years. She Avas the mother of James 
D. Stebbins, yet residing in Clinton. 

Cupid, the wily little god, was not idle, but visited the 
settlement in 1788, casting his darts, and making some very 
pleasant Avounds among the young people. The result was, 
the marriage of Elias Dewey and Anna Foot, and Andrew 
Blanchard and Mary Cook, upon the same day. The first 
public wedding,' (and even some claim that it was the first 
marriage of a white couple in the county,) was that of Mr. 
lloger Leverett and Miss Elizabeth Cheesbrough, sister of 
the late Harry Cheesbrough and Mrs. Benedict Babcock, 
Sen. The bans were solemnized upon the Congden farm, in 
a log house which stood upon a knoll in the first orchard 
east from where the road from Clinton to Utica crosses the 
Chenango Canal. Jason Parker, of Utica, so long known 
as a stage proprietor and mail contractor, was an invited 
guest. In lack of other, the fire-sill was used as the most 
prominent seat for the company: It 'was a real merry- 
making ; and if the bill of fare did not quite come up to 
that of the modern weddings of Clinton, yet we a?e quite 
sure it did not fall short in that essential ingredient of a 
good wedding, — happy guests. Among the early marriages 
was that of Mr. William Stebbins to Miss Lydia Branch, 
November 25, 1790. The Rev. Sampson Orcum, the Indian 



176 AXXALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

'preaclier, officiated, and, as was the custom in those days, 
saluted the bride without giving any offence. 

The first child born in the settlement was Clinton Foot,' 
sou of Luther Foot, who died before he arrived at manhood. 
The second was Fanny Kellogg, daughter of Capt, Amos 
Kellogg. She is yet living in Clinton, and is the widow of 
the late lamented Orrin Gridley. The third, Julius Pond, 
Esq., deceased, who was extensively known in the county, 
was born July 2G, 1789; and the fourth was James I). 
Stebbins, who was born September 11 of the same year. 

Many settlers arrived in 1789, among others, Jesse Cur- 
tiss, Esq.,* who is still living, in the enjoyment of a green old 
age, a monument between the past and the present age, 
honored and beloved. He brought on his back from the log 
huts in Utica, a skipple (three pecks) of seed wheat. 

It is believed that, for the first time, horses were seen in 
the settlement this year, excepting the one before mentioned 
a,s brought in by Capt. Foot. William Carpenter and 
Nathan Marsh each had one, and during the fall they went 
on horseback to Albany. It is no very great compliment, 
however, either to the roads or the powers of the beasts, to 
state that Jesse Curtiss and Bartholomew Pond, who started 
on foot at the same time, preceded them some hours in 
arriving at Albany. 

The summer of 1789 was in one respect more trying to 
the settlers than its predecessors. Famine, with all its 
horrors was upon th'em. The crops of the previous year 
were insufiieient for their own wants and those of the daily 
increasing emigrants. The hoarded little stock of flour, and 
their last year's crop of potatoes, were consumed, and the 
corn and meal were nearly exhausted, while the forthcoming 
crep was not matured. At planting time such were their 

* Sinice deceased. (See liis obituary at the close of the chapter.) 



X;i.] KIRKLAND. 177 

straits, and tlieir care to husband their limited supply, that 
the eyes of the potatoes wei-e cut out for planting, and tht' 
remainder carefully preserved for the table. To slaughter 
their few cattle, would be at once to destroy their future pros- 
pects, and nothing but the last extremity could have induced 
them to do so. Money was almost out of the question, and 
it is believed that if they had been compelled to contribute 
their all, not enough would have been found to purchase a 
barrel of flour, even at present prices. The forests were 
searched for ground-nuts and leeks, the fishing rod put in 
requisition, and most fortunate was the hunter who succeeded 
in securing a bear or her cubs, to aid in their extremity. 
Notwithstanding, children cried for food, and strong men 
put themselves on a stinted allowance, that the more help- 
less might be fed. All this did not suffice ; something far- 
ther must be done. A small party was sent to Fort Plain, 
Montgomery County, to see if supplies could not there be 
obtained. At that place resided a large farmer and miller, 
named Isaac Paris, and to him imploringly they appealed. 
He responded most liberally ; and with a promptness which 
did honor to his heart, he loaded a small flat boat with flour 
and meal, and sent it up the Mohawk to the mouth of the 
Oriskany. Here it was met by a party of the settlers, 
transhipped into a log canoe of their own construction, and 
from thence, with the aid of setting poles, paddles, and ropes, 
their " ark of plenty " was taken up the creek as far as the 
site of the bridge upon the Lairdsville road, and from that 
landing it was transported in carts to the settlement. Lan- 
guage is too feeble to describe the rejoicings upon the arrival 
of this timely supply of breadstufts. Clinton has never 
before nor since witnessed such an overflow of gratitude. 

The settlers did not go to Mr. Paris as beggars. Silver 
and gold they bad none, but they had industry, and strong 

12 



178 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [C'lIAP. 

bands and arms, and they agreed to pay for the meal and 
flour in ginseng, to be delivered tlie next fall. This root, 
in the early days of Oneida, was a considerable article in 
commerce. Although our cattle have now almost extirpated 
it from our forests, it was at that early day found in great 
abundance. It was shipped to those countries afflicted with 
the plague, where it was for a long time considered the best 
antidote against that disease. In 1792, a new town, includ- 
ing Clinton, was formed from Whitestown, and in gratitude 
to their benefactor, the name of Paris was given to it. The 
original town of Paris has since been divided, and the town 
of Kirlvland, including Clinton, taken from it. At thi.s 
time, such is the veneration of the name of Paris, that many 
of the descendants of those who enjoyed his beneficence, 
although rightfully proud of the name of Kirkland, regret 
that the name Paris had not been retained by that portion 
of the original town including Clinton. 

This year the settlers commenced building for themselves^ 
more permanent and comfortable habitations. Col. Timothy 
Tuttle erected the first framed house, which yet remains, 
and is the carriage house upon the premises of the lato 
Samuel Royce. 

The same year, Ebenezer Butler erected the second fi-amed 
house, upon the spot where is now the residence of Asa 01m- 
stead, and there he opened and kept the first store in town. 

About the 20th of October, 1789, snow fell to the depth 
of nearly two feet, and this upon a bed of mud of nearly the 
same depth. The weather became cold and inclement, and 
most forbidding to him who had yet to erect a frame dwell- 
ing. Precisely at this time, a settler, determined not to be 
foiled in his plan of building a framed house before the win- 
ter should set in in full severity, went to Capt. Foot's saw 
mill, and for three days and two nights, unremittingly, and 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 179 

without aid, continued to saw the lumber necessary for the 
building. When the task was completed, his hands had 
become glazed, as by fire, by the constant use of the frosty 
mill-bars ; but he was well repaid for his toil, for in a few 
days he was enabled to rear a frame dwelling sixteen feet 
square. That dwelling is now the kitchen of Mr. Horatio 
Curtiss, and that persevering settler was Jesse Curtiss. 
already mentioned. 

The first two framed barns were built this year, the first 
by Judah Stebbins, upon the farm now owned by Mr. Edwin 
J. Stebbins, and the second in the latter part of the season, 
upon the farm of the Rev. Hiram H. Kellogg. These were 
both large, and the first built in the vicinity. 

In the year 1 792, Thomas Hart removed to Clinton. He 
was the father of a number of sons, one of whom has been 
conspicuous in our great commercial emporium, another in 
central, and others in western New York. In company with 
one Seth Roberts. Mr. Hart opened a store in the building 
in which Ebenezer Butler had before traded. Mr. Hart 
was appointed one of the Judges of Oneida County some 
years previous to his death. The most expensive monument 
at that time in the Clinton burying ground, was erected to 
his memory, with the following inscription : — 

" In memory of Tiioma.s Hart, Esquire, who died Feb. 11, 1811, 
..aged GO years and 4 montlis." 

In 1793, Judah Stebbins erected the first two-story house 
in the town, and which yet stands, being the large yellow 
dwelling upon the farm of the before-named Edwin J. Steb- 
bins, his grandson. A single fact shows at once the difiicul- 
ties which had to be surmounted, and the laborious habits of 
those days. Mr. Stebbins, with his own hands, rived or 
split the clap-boards upon this house, from pine trees. Now 



180 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAr, 

the builder is hardly content with the best of half inch pine 
stuff, sawed, planed, and jointed by steam power, and deliv- 
ered at his door. 

Clinton, was settled by natives of New England, princi- 
pally from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Its history 
shows the striking influence of early habits and education ; 
for from 1787 to the present day, the place has continued to 
possess most of the characteristics of a New England town. 
The staid habits, prevailing morality, and the attachment to 
education, which are here found, most distinctly .show their 
eastern and Puritan origin. 

Sometimes, the settlers met with odd adventures. The 
bears in those days were very destructive to green corn and 
young pigs. 

In the fall of 1790, Mr. Curtiss, and three or four others, 
on their return from meeting one Sunday afternoon, passed 
through a corn field, near where stands the mansion formerly 
occupied by Maj. Pond, and now by Mr. Crunn. They 
heard an unusual rustling in the corn, and in searching for 
the cause, discovered two bear cubs busily engaged in break- 
ing down and masticating the green ears. Forthwith they 
made an onset upon the trespassers, and, despite their 
piteous cries for their dam, by dint of blows and kicks, soon 
despatched them. The same afternoon, Mr. Bronson, upon 
returning from meeting, found the old bear sitting very 
quietly and demurely upon the steps of his door, little 
dreaining of the sad calamity which had overtaken lior 
young. 

The street leading past the house of James D. Stebbins 
was for a long time called '-Brim Field" street, being en- 
tirely settled by emigrants from the town of that name in 
Massachusetts. The street leading to Utica was long known 
as '• Toggletown," from the long lines of log fence on each 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 181 

bide of it, made by "toggling" the logs together at the joints 
Even at this day, some of the old inhabitants designate this 
street by that name. 

The name of "Chueker}-" is indellibly impressed upon the 
eastern part of this town, and when the section bearing that 
name became so populous as to send a colon}'- into Madisoji 
County, such was the partiality for the name, that the clus- 
ter of buildings is known as "New Chuckery" to this day, 
notwithstanding some modern innovators have attempted t<i 
change it to Perryville. The little village upon the creek 
above Clinton, now known as Franklin, once bore the un- 
seemly name of Sodom. If its inhabitants ever deserved 
fso uncourteous an appellation (which is very much doubted), 
its present population have earned their title to the popular 
name by which their village is now designated. 

In the early settlement of Clinton, a circumstance o^-cur- 
red similar in some respects to the famous dreaming match 
])etween Sir William Johnson and the Mohawk sachem. A 
man named Owens was building a framed house near where 
stands the residence of the Kev. Mr. Sawyer. The Kev. Mr. 
Kirkland, in passing it with a cart and oxen, observed some 
pieces of boards which he needed, and said to Owens, '• I 
had a dream last night." " What did you dream?" was the 
response. " I dreamed that you gave me these nice piece.s 
of pine boards, and that I took them home in my cart." 
'•Well/' says Owen, "if you so dreamed, you must take 
them." The next day, as Mr. Kirkland was again passing. 
Owens saluted him, and told him he had had a dream. 
"What was it?" asked Mr. Kirkland. "I dreamed that I 
wanted your cart and two yoke of oxen to go to Whitesboro 
for brick for my chimney, and that you let me have them." 
" Well," says his Keverence, " if you dreamed so, you must 
have them, but, dear me. do not ever dream again." 



182 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciLir. 

In the year 1801, Epliraim Hart, who had succeeded hi.s 
father, Thomas Hart, in the mercantile business, had collected 
1,800 silver dollars, with which he was soon to start for New 
York to jjurchase goods. An Irishman named Samuel 
3IcBride, who had in some way learned that Mr. Hart had 
that sum on hand, on tlie night of the 23d of July, broke into 
the store, and stole the whole. In the morning the theft wa?; 
discovered, and immediate search made for the thief and 
money, and the burglar was soon captured, with the whole 
sum, excepting about two dollars. He was brought back to 
Clinton for examination, Avhere he made his escape in tlie 
night from his two keepers, and got into the forest. Upon 
tlie high ground opposite where the Middle Settlement road 
leaves the Utica road, and in rear of the house then the 
residence of Mr. Samuel Hecox, he found a hollow stump, 
.<ome ten or twelve feet high, into which he stowed himself, 
intending to remain through the next day, and the next 
evening to leave for "parts vinknown." But the Fates had 
otherwise ordered, for at evening, in attempting to leave, he 
found himself unable to get to the top of his hiding place, 
and for several hours hope forsook him, and he believed he 
must there remain, and die from starvation. The next 
morning, in the frenzy of despaii", and aided by the light of 
day, a more desperate effort was successful, and he was upon 
the point of escaping from his novel cell, just in season to be 
ve-captured by some person in search of him. He was sub- 
sequently tried, convicted, and rewarded for his villany witli 
fourteen j^ears' duress in State's Prison. Although in 
amount this fell far short of some modern bank robberies 
yet in those hard money days, it created much sensation in 
the vicinity. The stolen money was composed entirely of 
Spanish milled dollars. 

Some account has been already given of the first religion? 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 183 

meeting held in the viUage. No minister visited the place 
until the month of November, 1788, when the Rev. Samuel 
Eells, then pastor of the Congregational Church in Bran- 
ford, Ct., visited the place, remained some time, and preached 
to the people. He also formed for his hearers a covenant, 
which much resembled the " half-way covenant," so popular 
in those days in New England, and this was signed by nine 
males and seven females. This covenant was not very or- 
thodox in its character, requiring merely " moral character," 
'•historic faith," and baptism, but not requiring '"saving 
faith" as a pre-requisite for communion. As a basis of 
Christian and church fellowsliip, such a covenant might 
}>ossibly be considered a little preferable to the absence of 
;ill religious association, yet even of this some doubts might 
be entertained. It appears that the "half-way covenant'' 
was very soon abandoned in Clinton. 

In August, 1791, Dr. Edwards, better known as the 
younger Edwards, then pastor of a church in New Haven, 
Conn., arrived in the place, and during his stay organized 
a Congregational Church, of about thirty members. On the 
'26th day of September, of the same year, " The Society of 
Clinton" was organized by the election of Mos3S Foot, 
Eli Bristol, Ebenezer Butler, Jun., Hannaniah Ellinwood, 
Ebenezer Tuttle, and Samuel Tuttle, as trustees. The 
articles of association are dated September 1, 1791, and 
were signed by eighty-three members, embracing nearly all 
the jDrominent men in the settlement. 

In 1792, the Rev. Asahel S. Norton '-came, at the request 
of the people, to preach the Grospel of salvation." 

After he had preached to them some time, they gave 
him an invitation to become pastor of the church and society, 
which was accepted. Owing to some disappointment in 
obtaining the person selected to preach the sermon, his 



184 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

ordination was delayed to a much later day than was in- 
tended. He was ordained in the open air, near the centre 
of Clinton, on the 1 8th of September, 1793. Dr. Norton 
remained jjastor of the Congregational Church a few weeks 
over fort}^ years, and was dismissed in November, 1833. 

At the close of Dr. Norton's pastoral labors, 741 had 
joined the church, including those who united at its forma- 
tion. But thirty-four had joined previous to his ordination, 
and of these, seven had been already dismissed, leaving but 
twenty-seven members at that time. 

Of the whole number (741) who had joined previous to 
the close of his serA'ices, 571 had been received by pro- 
fession, and 170 by letters from other churches. These 
numbers show that his labors had been eminently success- 
ful. In 1 820, Dr. Norton preached a Thanksgiving sermon, 
which was published at the request of his congregation, and 
in which he states. — " There have been added to the churclt 
419 since it has been under my pastoral charge. Tb.e 
whole number of members since the first formation of tlic 
church. 453 : of these. 213 have fallen asleep, or removed to 
other parts of the country. The number now remaining in 
the limits of the society is 240." 

Near the close of 1799, a revival commenced in Clinton. 
which continued through 1800 and a part of 1801. As its 
fruits, sixty-three joined the church on profession of faith in 
1800, and forty-four in 1801. besides twenty-four who joined 
by letter within these two years. 

In 1831. another revival of religion occurred and pro- 
gressed during the year. Ninety-one wei-e added upon 
profession, and eight by letter, and in 1832, eighteen by 
profession, and fourteen b}' letter. 

In 1835, the Hev. Moses Chase was installed pastor. His 
ministry was successful, for within that year twenty-one 



XII.] KTRKLAND. 185 

joined ui)on profession and twenty -five b}' letter, and in 183G, 
thirty-five by profession and twenty by letter. In 1838, 
tliirty-uine were added upon profession and nine by letter. 

Mr. Cliase was dismissed in 1839, and the aggregate ac- 
cessions during the five years in which he was pastor, wore 
104 upon profession and sixty-five by letter. 

Tlie Kev. Wayne Gridley, was installed pastor in 1840. 
Ill 1842, nineteen joined by profession and ten by letter, and 
in 1843, thirty-five by profession, and four by letter. In 
184.3. Mr. Gridley was dismissed on account of ill health. 
During the five years in which he was pastor sixty-eight were 
added on profession and forty-four by letter. 

In 1846, the present pastor, the Kev. Robert G. Virmilye 
was installed. During the years 1846, 1847, and 184S, ten 
were added by profession and sixteen by letter. From the 
formation of the church in 1791 to the close of 1848, 1,082 
had been received into the fellowship of the church, 830 had 
cither died or been dismissed, leaving the present number 
260. In 1850 this church reported to the General Associa- 
tion 250 members, 80 males and 170 females, and that five 
had been received upon profession and nine by letter during 
the year, and the removal of fifteen by death, by dismission, 
etc. Doctor Norton yet survives. He was eighty-five years 
of age on the twentieth of September, 1850, and still dwells 
upon his farm about one mile north-west of the village, which 
has been his home for more than half a century. He has 
lost the sight of one eye by disease, and the other has become 
dim by age. He walks to and from the post ofiiee in the 
village, with the sprightliness, if not with the elasticity, of 
youth. In speaking of him, the author feels justified in 
swerving from the rule he had adopted, not to speak but in 
general terms of the characters of the living. He is a loved 
monument, spared to us, of the past generation, of the early 



iS6 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

settlers of tlie county. He loves the people of Clinton, luid 
they love and venerate him. Each succeeding winter they 
make him a pastoral visit, when not only a large portion of 
liis own beloved church and society meet, but others of the 
different societies ; and well they may, for during his long 
and useful life, the benediction of his Savior in the sermon 
iin the Mount has well applied to him: "Blessed are the 
iK3acemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." 

Baptist Church. — During the revival of religion in 183 1, 
a portion of the converts were impressed with the belief that 
immersion is the scriptural mode of baptism, and that be- 
lievers are the only subjects. In the month of June of that 
year, a meeting of those persons was held to consult as to 
their duty, and after a full and free discussion, and the ad- 
vice of members of dilierent Baptist Churches, they came to 
the conclusion to unite with the first Baptist Church in 
Westmoreland, with the understanding of ultimately being 
dismissed to form a church in Clinton village. Accordingly, 
on the sixtli of July following, the Westmoreland Church 
held a meeting in the Universalist Church in that village, and 
received seventeen members, who resided in that vicinity. 
This was the germ of the Baptist Church. On the 25th of 
September afterwards, a Council Avas called to advise as to the 
propriety of organizing said members into a church, and after 
a full discussion, the Council advised to the measure, and 
tliey forthwith proceeded to organize such church, as they be- 
lieved, on the apostolic plan. It consisted of nineteen mem- 
bers, nine males and ten females. Elder P. P. Brown, of 
Augusta, preached the sermon, Elder David Morris, of Rome. 
gave the hand of fellowship, and Elder Daniel Putnam, of 
Sangerfield, addi-essed the church on the occasion. 

They soon procured the use of the Grammar school building, 



XII.] KIRKLAXD. 187 

and on the first Lord's-day in October they commenced wor- 
ship, which has been regularly maintained to the present 
time. In the winter of 1832, a subscription was circulated 
to raise funds to build a meeting house for their use. Nine 
hundred and fifteen dollars and ninety-one cents having been 
subscribed, they proceeded to commence preparations for pur- 
chasing a lot and building a house, which were to cost $1,800. 
The house was completed and dedicated on November 9th of 
the same year. The building is sixty feet by forty, with a 
circular gallery and basement, and was at the time considered 
a neat structure, as well as an honor to its projectors and build- 
ers and an ornament to the village. On the completion of 
their house the church found itself in debt about ^1.100, on 
which an annual interest had to be paid, besides tlie support 
of a pastor. This to a body, the assessed value of whose 
individual property amounted probably in the aggregate to 
less than $8,000, must have appeared somewhat onerous, but 
there was union, and where that is, there is strength. By 
assessments and re-assessments, and with the aid of $193.53 
generously donated by members of other denominations, in 
1837, the whole debt was cancelled, one family having paid 
within the five years $536,90. 

The church has had its seasons of prosperity and adversity. 
From its commencement to the present time, 337 have been 
added to its numbers, 174 by letter, and 163 by baptism. 

The first pastor of the church was Elder Daniel Putnam, 
who remained but one year. From that period to the pres- 
ent, the church has had a succession of pastors, eight in 
number. 

In 1842, 1843, Elder Jason Corwin was pastor; in 1844, 
Elder William Thompson; 1845, 1846, Elder A. Kenyon; 
1847 and 1848, Elder Harry White; 1850 and 1851, Elder 
B. Alcott. The present number of members is eighty-fivo. 



188 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Of those wlio have been dismissed, the greater portlou have 
joined other Baptist Churches, a few have died, and but feAV 
Ijave been excluded. Of its original members, seven j'et re- 
main in the church. 

TJie Universalist Society. — Universalism was first preach- 
ed statedly in Kirkland, in 1820, when the Rev. Stephen E. 
Smith, so well known and appreciated through the whole de- 
nomination, delivered a course of lectures in the village of 
Clinton. As mentioned in the history of New Hartford, 
(Chap. XYI,) the Whitestown Society was the parent stock 
from which the others of the same faith emanated. In Clin- 
ton there were several prominent members of the denomina- 
tion, and they wished to bring the blessing of public worship 
as they held to be the truth, to their own doors. The lec- 
tures of Mr. Smith in 1820, prepared the way for the erec- 
tion of a neat and commodious brick church in 1822. Jo- 
seph Stebbins, Esq., headed the subscription with $500, and 
as money was needed, during the erection of the building, he 
advanced about $1,000 over his subscription. For his gene- 
rosity he has never received, as he probably never expected, 
any other return than the approbation of his own conscience. 
and the gratitude of his brethren in the denomination. This 
society has never been more than moderately prosperous, and 
has had to contend against much prejudice. Still it sustains 
a respectable rank as to wealth and numbers, and will com- 
pare favorably with either the Jlethodist or Baptist Socie- 
ties. The Congregationalist is very much larger. 

In connection with the Universalist Church should be 
mentioned '• the Clinton Liberal Institute," which is under 
the patronage of this denomination. It was founded in 1832, 
and received a charter in 1834. It consists of a male and 
female department, which occupy separate buildings. That 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 189 

of the male department is a large stone edifice, nearly 100 
feet in length, and four stories high, and cost over 89,000. 
The female department has until recently occupied a building 
which has been found inadequate for its purposes. 

In 1850 a new building was erected for this department, 
the architectural design and execution of which have con- 
ferred much honor upon its projectors, and an ornament upon 
the village. The estimated expense of the building was 
$6,500. The site was a gift to the Institute, and one of the 
finest in the village, having been valued at $500. Considera- 
ble improvements are being made in the male department, 
and the trustees and friends of the Institution are putting 
forth their earnest efi"orts to raise the school to the first rank 
among the Academies of the State. A subscription for a 
permanent fund of $10,000 has been recently nearly or quite 
filled up, besides a considerable sum required for the erection 
of the new building for the female department. Within a 
vshort period two very liberal bequests, amounting to from 
nine to ten thousand dollars, have been made to the Insti- 
tute, which, when received, will add materially to its means of 
usefulness, in difi^using the blessing of a good education to its 
pupils. At present the school sustains a respectable rank 
among the literary institutions of our country. It employs 
sis teachers, and generally has about one hundred students. 
The Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer is now at the head of its faculty. 

Methodist Societ?/. — This denomination has a respectable 
society in Clinton. A few years since they erected a very 
neat and appropriate chapel for public worship on the east- 
erly side of Clinton Green. The author has repeatedly, from 
time to time, been promised notes, containing statistics of 
this body, and had left a blank in his manuscript for as ex- 
tended a notice of this as of the other religious societies in 



190 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [C'lIAP. 

the place. He has, however, been entirely disappointed in 
receiving the information so often sought, and is reluctantly 
compelled to go to press with but this stinted notice. 

There are now in Clinton village more than twenty or- 
dained ministers of dififerent denominations, four church- 
es, seven stores, eight licensed physicians, one College, the 
Liberal Institute, an Academy, two Seminaries for young 
ladies, a District School, a bank, and a printing office. The 
Surrogate for the county now resides in Clinton, and holds 
his courts there. A plank road from Waterville to Utioa 
passes through Clinton, as does also the Chenango Canul. 
Clinton has been justly termed the literary and scientific 
emporium of Central New York. 

Geology. — This town possesses numerous beds ©f iroii 
ore, from which about 3,000 tons are used annually at Con- 
stantia and Taberg. This is mostly converted into pig iron 
for the supplying of cupola furnaces. Its quality approxi- 
mates to that of best Scotch pig. This ore was formerly 
Avorked to a small extent in a forge at Walesville, and in 
Marshall, but the iron, either from the want of skill in the 
manufacturers, or the inferior quality of the ore, proved to be 
most miserably poor. There are quarries of good buiklini;- 
stone near Clinton village. Near Hamilton College are ex- 
tensive beds of red shale, otherwise there is nothing peculiar 
to distinguish this from the neighboring towns. 

Manchester village (although its post office bears th(> 
name of Kirkland), lies one and a half miles below Clinton, 
where the Seneca plank road crosses the Oriskany Creek 
Here in the olden time was the Indian trail from the ford at 
Fort Schuyler (Utica) to the Oneida Castle. It was alsc^ 
considered as the head of navigation on the Oriskany, al- 



Xri.] KIRKLAND. 191 

though perhaps occasionally a canoe may have ascended as 
high as Clinton. The wrecks of two or three batteaus were 
found here when the first settlers arrived. A small stream 
here enters the Oriskany from the south-east, and on the 
point formed by the two streams there was a small Indian 
clearing, with another on the easterly side, still smaller, used 
for encamping. The fii-st settler in this village was Robert 
Parks, who arrived here in 1788, and in the same season a 
number of families removed to this place and vicinity. Mr. 
Parks erected the first framed house, which is now the back 
part of the tavern owned by David Pixley, Esq. There are 
in the village two stores, two taverns, an extensive cotton 
factory, several mechanics, and from thirty to forty dwelling 
houses. There are a Congregational Church and Society^ 
with a respectable house of worship. This church reported 
in 1850 forty-nine members. Rev. S. W. Raymond, the 
present pastor, commenced his labors with the church in 
184G. 

The water power for the factory at this place was obtained 
in a manner diff'erent from the ordinary mode. The flats of 
the Oriskany at this place are wide, and in&tead of confinincf 
the stream to either side by a dike, a heavy wall of masonry, 
about fifty feet in length, laid in hydraulic cement, was 
raised some twenty feet, near the centre and crosswise of the 
valley, a few rods from the channel of the stream just above 
the site of the factory. From the ends of this wall heavy 
parallel embankments of earth were carried so fj^r up and 
into the stream, as to raise the water'nearly to the top of the 
wall. Although expensive, a power was thus obtained suf- 
ficient for the machinery of a large factory. 

One of the earliest Sunday Schools in the county was 
established in this village. Warren Converse, Esq., then 
superintendent of the factory, and Mr. Isaac Pixley, were 



192 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

mainly instrumental in getting up the scliool. It was started 
-early in 1817, and it had a two-fold object: first, instruction 
in the Scriptures ; and, secondly, to give those destitute of 
other means, an opportunity to acquire the rudiments of 
education. Some were found, even thirteen years of age, 
without a knowledge of the alphabet. Instances can bt; 
given of young men who have succeeded well in life, and 
have made respectable members of society, who in this school 
received their entire education. Although at its commence- 
ment it had to encounter prejudices, it is continued in its 
usefulness to the present time. 



HAMILTON ONEIDA ACADEMY. 



This Institution was incorporated by the Regents of the 
University, by charter, dated "the thirty-first day of January, 
in the seventeenth year of American independence." [1793. J 
This charter is written upon parchment, and is in a good 
state of preservation, having been kept in a tin case. 

The preamble of the charter sets forth that, "Whereas 
Samuel Kirkland, Jonas Piatt, Eli Bristoll, Erastus Clark, 
Joai Bristoll, Sewall Hopkins, James Dean, and Michac I 
Myers, by an instrument in writing, under their hands and 
seals, bearing date the 12th day of November, in the year 
of our Lord 1792, after stating, among other things, that 
they arc founders and benefactors of a certain Academy in 
Whitestown, contiguous to the Oneida Nation of Indians, 
in the County of Herkimer, in the State aforesaid, who have 
contributed more than one half in the value of the real and 
personal property and estate collected and appropriated for 
the use and benefit of said Academy, did make application to 
us. the said Regents, that the said Academy might be incor- 



Xn.] KIRKLAND. 193 

porated and become subject to the visitation of us and our 
successors, and that we would signify our approbation that 
Alexander Hamilton, John Lansing, Egbert Benson, Dan 
Bradly, Eli Bristoll, Erastus Clark, James Dean, Moses 
Foot, Thomas R. Gold, Sewal Hopkins, Michael Myers, 
Jonas Piatt, Jedediah Sanger, John Sergeant, Timothy 
Tuttle, and Samuel Wells, named in the said application, 
and their successors, might be a body corporate and politic, 
by the name and style of the Trustees of Hamilton Oneida 
Academy." The Regents then proceed to "signify their 
approbation" of said Trustees of Hamilton Oneida Academy, 
etc. This charter is signed by George Clinton, Chancellor, 
and N. Lawrence, Secretary. 

Of the persons named above as petitioners and trustees, 
it is believed that not one is now living ; certainly not more 
than one or two. 

In 1794, a large and commodious wooden building was 
erected for the Academy, and partly completed. The corner 
stone was laid with much ceremony. The Baron Steuben 
was present by invitation, and to him was given the honor 
of placing it in proper position. He was escorted to Clin- 
ton, and from thence to the " Hill," the site of the Academy, 
by Capt. George W. Kirkland and his troop of Clinton 
Light Horse. My informant says he wore his military hat 
— the one worn in the Revolution — upon the occasion. If 
speech could have been given it, what an "o'ertrue tale" it 
could have told, of suffering witnessed, of hard service, of 
battles fought and victories won in the cause of the United 
States. 

In the latter part of the same year, a school was com- 
menced, under the preceptorship of the Rev. John Niles, 
and during a portion of the time he had the charge of the 
school, the Rev. James Murdock was associated with him. 

13 



194 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAT. 

Mr. Niles was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Porter. Mr 
Porter was succeeded by the late Professor Seth Norton. 
who remained but one year, and then returned to Yale 
College, and was succeeded by the Rev. James Robbins, 
who remained a year, when Professor Norton returned and 
resumed the charge of the school, and continued at its head 
until the college charter was obtained, when he was elected ■ 
Professor of Languages in that Institution. As long as Mr. 
Kirkland lived, he continued the benefactor of the Academy. 

"Within the past year a travelling pedlar called at the 
residence of the authoi', to dispose of some of his wares, and 
while present produced a small package of papers, which he 
said he had found in the road near New Hartford village. 
On examination, they were found to be dated in the latter 
part of the last century, mostly of a legal character, and of 
no possible use at this time to any one. One paper, how- 
ever, as a relic of Mr. Kirkland's devotion to his favorite 
Institution, is worth preserving. It was under the hand and 
seal of Mr. Kirkland, and in a short preamble he sat forth 
that the trustees of Hamilton Oneida Academy were de- 
sirous to borrow three or four hundred dollars to complete 
t]fo. Academic building, and then proceeds, by promising, for 
value received, to make himself personally responsible to 
any person who would loan the money to said trustees. 
Comment is unnecessary. 

In its time, Hamilton Oneida Academy performed wcil 
its part. Many of the sons of Central New York left its 
balls with their all of classical education, to become eminent 
in the pulpit, at the bar, and in the medical profession. 
Among the contributors to its funds may be found the 
names of almost every inhabitant of Clinton, and many 
from the adjoining towns. Thus useful and prosperous, and 
thus fostered, it soon became apparent that, at no distant 



• XII.] KIRKLAND. 195 

<Iay, a wider field of usefulness was opening before it. A 
subscription was again opened, to raise funds to endow it as 
a College. This subscription was headed by that excellent 
man, — the then patroon of Albany, — the late Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, who gave $1,000. The late Daniel D. Tomp- 
kins — then Grovernor of the State, and afterwards Vice 
President of the United States — gave 8500. They were 
followed by many generous donors, until a sufficient sum 
was raised, added to the prospective bounty of the State, to 
warrant an application to the Regents of the University for 
a college charter. The prayer was heard, and on the 26th 
of May, 1812, a charter was granted to Hamilton College. 

The trustees named in the charter were, Henry Hunting- 
ton, George Brayton, Morris S. Miller, Nathan Williams, 
James S. Kip, James Carnahan, Jedediah Sanger, Joseph 
Kirkland, John H. Lothrop, Thomas R. Grold, Jonas Piatt, 
James Eells,. Asahel S. Norton, Ephraim Hart, William 
Hotchkiss, Joel Bristol, Henry McNiel, Peter Smith, Dirck 
C Lansing, Jasper Hopper, Obadiah German, Arunah Met- 
calf, Simeon Ford, and Walter Fisk. Of the above twenty- 
four trustees, all that survived at the time of the annual 
commencement, July 1849, were James Eells, Asahel S. 
Norton, William Hotchkiss, Dirck C. Lansing, Jasper Hop- 
per, Arunah Metcalf, and Walter Fisk. 

The Rev. Azel Backus, D. D., was elected first President, 
in 1812. This selection was most fortunate. The college; 
under his auspices, was fast rising in usefulness and public 
favor ; but his connection with the institution was soon 
severed by death. Dr. Backus was born in the town of 
Franklin, near the city of Norwich, Conn., on the 13th of 
October, 1765. His father died while his only child was in 
infancy. The death of the father was an almost irreparable 
loss to the son, for he particularly needed in youth those 



196 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

restraints which none but a father can so well impose. His 
ardent temperament required a firm and steady control, and 
his early years were marked with great licentiousness of 
opinion. His companions were rude, ignorant, and disso- 
lute. His mind became poisoned with infidelity, and he 
often spoke of himself " as a brand plucked from the burn- 
ing." 

While engaged in his studies, preparatory to his admission 
to college, he began an intimate acquaintance with his uncle, 
the Rev. Charles Backus, of Somers, who soon won the 
affections of his nephew. The influence thus obtained, he 
employed to promote the eternal welfare of his young kins- 
man. He was successful, for the infidel was arrested, and 
trembled in view of his danger, and the arrow fastened in 
his heart. Guided by the Spirit, he bowed to the sovereignty 
of the God he had denied. Religion softened his heart and 
subdued his will. After the completion of his preparatory 
studies, he was admitted a member of Yale College. While 
in college his insatiable thirst for knowledge often led him 
into a desultory course of reading, and through life his 
learning, though extensive, in some degree lacked system. 
The completion of his collegiate course had exhausted his 
pata-imony, and left him to some extent indebted to friends. 
As yet, he had not selected his profession. With but few 
friends, and no pecuniary resources, he was almost discou- 
raged, and at one time he had decided to abandon the farther 
prosecution of literary pursuits, and join the army. Here 
again his unele stepped in as a guardian angel, and rescued 
his wayward nephew. A change of purpose was eifected, 
and a resolution formed to enter upon the study of divinity. 
His first occupation after leaving college, was the charge of 
the grammar school in Weathersfield, where he was associated 
with his classmate, John H. Lothrop, Esq., and in the divi- 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 197 

• sion of duties, the care of the young gentlemen devolved on 
Dr. Backus. His superioi- talents as an instructor were 
here developed. He was licensed and commenced preaching 
in 1 789, and soon afterwards was invited to preach to the 
congregation then lately bereaved by the death of Dr. Bel- 
lamy. He afterwards received an unanimous call to become 
the pastor of the church, which was accepted, and his talents 
and character did not fail to render him acceptable and use- 
ful to his congregation. He was a faithful pastor. In his 
intercourse with his people, he was candid and affectionate : 
as a preacher, he was sound, original, attractive, and instruc- 
tive. His imagination was brilliant and chaste, producing 
some of the boldest combinations and brightest specimens 
of intellectual creations. His pen never did justice to his 
talents as a preacher. In 1798, he preached the annual 
election sermon, by the appointment of Grov. Wolcott ; and 
in 1799, he preached GrOv. Wolcott's funeral sermon. Soon 
after his ordination, he opened a select school in Bethlehem, 
the principal object of which was to prepare young men for 
college. He continued this school as long as he resided in 
the State. He was peculiarly qualified for a teacher, by the 
clear and direct manner in which he explained and illus- 
trated first principles, and adapted his ideas and language 
to the capacity of his pupils. He always acquired and re- 
tained the affection and respectful regard of those under his 
care. His selection and success as President of Hamilton 
College, have been noticed. In the midst of his career of 
usefulness, he died of typhus fever, December 9, 1816, aged 
fifty-two. His funeral sermon was preached by Bev. Dr. 
Norton. The corporation of the college, as a token of their 
respect for their departed President, erected over his re- 
mains in the college cemetery, a handsome monument to his 
memoi-y. The inscription is in Latin. 



198 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP- 

In person, Dr. Backus was of the middle stature, robust, 
and athletic ; though corpulent, he was active. 

He buried several children before he came to this State,, 
and four survived him. Two have since deceased: Wealthy, 
wife of Gerrit Smith, of Peterboro, and Albert, who died in 
France, where he had gone for the benefit of his health. 

The Rev. Henry Dtivis, D. D., succeeded to the Presidency 
ia 1817. He had previously been President of Middlebury 
College, Vermont. For the first five years he was success- 
ful, and the institution prosperous. Here it would be 
grateful to the feelings of the author, were a thick veil 
c|rawn over its history, never to be raised ; but such is not 
the case. The decline and abnost extinction of Hamilton 
College are remembered by those who survive. 

In November, 1823, an occurrence took place of the most 
astounding character. A small cannon, heavily loaded and 
plugged, was fired and burst, at two ox-lock in the morning, 
(in the fourtli floor of one of the college buildings. It was 
}>laced in the hall, by the side of a room occupied by a tutor, 
who, at the time, was asleep in an adjoining room. Although 
some of the students had a pique against the tutor, yet it 
was never suspected that there was any intention to take his 
life ; still, his escape was almost miraculous. His coat, 
which was hanging on a chair at the foot of his bed, was so 
rent as to preclude repair. The fragments of the cannon 
were thrown in every direction, some through the roof, and 
others through all the floors, quite into the basement. Some 
of the windows in that section of the building, were almost 
annihilated, sash as well as glass. The side of the tutor's 
chamber was entirely swept away, and the door was found 
erect against the opposite wall. In the end, this event 
brought the institution to the very verge of dissolution, 
although such a result did not necessarily follow such n 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 199 

€ause. It is believed that, if there had been harmonious 
action between the board of trustees and the faculty, its 
prosperity need not have been disturbed ; but such was not 
the case. The faculty believed that, by the college by-laws, 
its government was vested in them ; the trustees, or at least 
a majority of them, thought differently, and at a meeting of 
the board, a committee was appointed to investigate the 
matter. This committee made no progress in obtaining, the 
names of the authors, although, providentially, the faculty 
were soon in possession of all the facts, and the names of 
the nine students concerned. The reader need not be 
carried through the long labyrinth of troubles which fol- 
lowed. A portion of the trustees wished the President to 
resign, which he distinctly refused to do, on the ground tliat 
his reputation was too deeply concerned to permit such a 
course. Year after year of crimination and recrimination 
passed between a majority of the board and the President ; 
and as a house divided against itself can not stand, so, in the 
years 1829 and 1830 there was no graduating class. During 
a portion of these years, the college was reduced to nine 
students, and a part, perhaps all of these, were induced 
to remain to save the charter of the institution. " New 
measures," as they were termed, for producing religious 
revivals and excitements in Oneida County, became inter- 
woven with their troubles. The Western Education Society 
bad erected, in the vicinity of the college, a large boarding 
house, for the gratuitous boarding of its beneficiaries ; and 
as another of the evils the institution had to encounter, 
these students were a source of jealousy and annoyance to 
those who were able to defray their own expenses. 

After being thus brought to the very threshold of disso- 
lution, better counsels prevailed. A portion of the trustees 
resigned, and others of different views were appointed. 



200 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COLIVTY. [CHAP. 

" Charity Hall," as said boarding house was called, was sold, 
and became a private dwelling. The prospects of the college 
began to brighten. In 1831 there was a graduating class of 
nine, in 1832 of eleven, and in 1833 there were ninety-three 
students in attendance, and a graduating class of twenty. 

In 1832, Dr. Davis resigned the Presidency, but it was 
not accepted until the appointment of his successor, the 
Rev. Sereno E. Dwight, D. D , in 1833. Dr. Dwight con- 
tinued in the Presidency but two years, and in 1835 he was 
succeeded by the Rev. Joseph Penny, D. D., who, in 1839, 
was succeeded by the present incumbent, the Rev. Simeon 
North, who had been for the previous ten years Professor 
of Languages in the institution. Since President North 
entered upon the Presidential duties, the college has been 
constantly gaining in public confidence. Indeed, it was 
never as flourishing as in 1849. This year the catalogue 
shows a 

Senior Class of ----51 

Juniors -- 40 

Sophomores - - -- - - - - -44 

Freshmen 2^ 

Total 158 

Of the Seniors, forty-seven graduated at the annual com- 
mencement of this year, the largest number of graduates 
since the incorporation of the institution. 

Notwithstanding the clouds and darkness which' have at 
times overshadowed this institution, the future in prospec- 
tive is most cheering ; it is one of the bright and sunny 
spots in Central New York ; improvement is visible in its 
course. Some little change in the course of studies, such as 
experience may dictate, to bring it up to the standard of the 
age, and it will be all that its fondest friends can wish, or its 
founders hoped. 



Xir.] KIRKLAND. 201 

We are gratified that, on commencement day, tlie ludicrous 
eliapeau and gown no longer disfigure the form of the 
President, but he appears in a plain suit of citizen's black. 
On the last commencement, when the atmosphere was rang- 
ing near 110° Fahrenheit, the audience was not tortured 
with Greek and Latin exercises ; and it is fondly anticipated 
that, at no distant day, we shall hear the degrees conferred 
in plain Anglo-Saxon, that language of which it has been 
said, '• Wherever it is spoken, there the rights of man are 
best understood." The dark ages are past, when the gaping 
multitude supposed that something supernatural is conferred 
in a collegiate degree. Now, it is believed that, in connec- 
tion with a thorough course of studies pursued in disciplining 
the mind of the student, it is rendered almost priceless ; but 
it is not believed that four years spent in college in idleness 
and dissipation, and, if he is so fortunate as to receive one, a 
degree conferred in Latin, and a parchment inscribed in the 
same language, very well qualify the possessor for the active 
duties of after life. 

This history of Hamilton College can not be closed in 
any way so satisfactorily to the author, as by inscribing the 
following address of A. M. Stowe at the last commencement. 
Mr. Stowe was a member of the graduating class, and kindly 
furnished a copy, by request: — 



"Benignant Heaven did smile propitiouslj', and gave us proof of 
love to man, when, with Almighty hand, He made these rolling hills, 
and this delightful valley. I would ask those here to-day who have 
strolled in foreign lands, — lands where the muses sang most sweetly, 
I would ask, Where, in all thy rounds, didst find such scenes as 
these 1 Stroll through these groves, and climb the rugged hill witli 
me, and, from the summit of some lofty brow, feast well thine eyes 
on Nature's most exquisite volume. 

"I come to speak at first, of those once lords of this fair land, 
' whose foot-prints in the sands of time ' we have washed away, I 



202 ANNALS or ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

would point you to their graves, if I knew wliere to find them. 
Their graves ! They are all about us ; we tread each day upon the 
dust of noble men. We meet to-day where brave Oneida's sons once 
met in councils wise. Here curled the smoke, here ran the deer, 
and here the arrow flew. The war-whoop's deafening yell was heard 
from hill to hill, from glen to grove, most fair ; but cries like these 
Avere most unusual; Oneida's sons loved peace, and only when pro- 
voked to deeds of bloody hue, would they go forth in dread array ; 
but when their ire M'as up, not one of all the five remaining nations, 
dwelling round could stand before them. Like as the lion, when 
roused from peaceful rest by some intruder, they would make the 
earth to quake, and heaven's broad arch to ring. 

" A crude idea they had of the Great Spirit ; to it they bowed with 
reverence. They bowed when it was seen in blasts terrific, prostra- 
ting mighty forest oaks ; they bowed when lightnings flashed across 
their path, and thunders pealed on high ; they also bowed when 
death, the mighty foe of all, unnerved their neighbor's arm, and laid 
his icy hand on tongue and vitals. But M'orsliipped they not as the 
understanding Christian worships. For ages, no volume well inspired 
to them was kno\v7i ; no true idea of duty, God, or final retribution. 
Their ideal heaven was in Elysium's plain, where game is found in 
great abundance, and fleetest hounds, and arrows true, secure them 
richest food. To such delightful home they hoped to go when the 
Great Spirit called them. In yon fair valley dwelt Oneida's tribe for 
ages out of mind, and each successive generation stronger grew, till 
numbering many hundreds. 

'■In this condition Samuel Kirkland found them. When quite a 
youth, he left the halls of Princeton, from whose doors scores, not a 
few, have gone, to bless the world, and with a heart burning to be 
useful, he gave himself away, as give the men of God in this oiir own 
day, wlio go to foreign land to teach the ' way of life.' Oneidas' 
habits soon he learned, their language too; and then methinks I 
hear him say, ' 0, noble son of nature's wild domain, thou shonld'st 
not die without the truth ; the image of the Holy on thee is stamped ; 
with thee I'll spend my days, and count it pleasure.' One friend he 
had to comfort him ; save her, for years, he seldom saw the face of 
Saxon blood ; but saw he something better, — he saw the natives 
turn their faces heavenward, and ask for mercy. Such fiiith and 
works as he possessed can not but succeed. His step was always 
welcome to the rudest wigwam ; the chiefs in him confided. 

" Skenandoa, who.se powerful intellect and native eloquence is on 
the lips of all, loved Kirkland much ; loved as those alone can love 
who worship God sincerelJ^ He lived till five score winters M'histled 
through ]iis locks, and died, — died as a Christian dies. His menu- 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 203 

ment, plain, simple, time-worn, you Avill find on yonder hill, where 
.sleeps the dust of some well-versed in cLassic lore. 

" England, with strong desire to make us pay a tax on tea, swarmed 
on our coasts by king's command. Of nations dwelling roimd this 
tribe, some joined our foe, and used their influence strong to make 
Oneida's sons rush to the bloody fray. On council ground the chiefs 
of neighboring nations met. In harangues long and eloquent in 
their euphonious language, (so unlike our own,) they spoke succes- 
sively. Oneida's tribe did waver ; it felt the force of sophistry, which 
seldom is without effect in this our day, when men of intellect per- 
verted speak to the people. It seemed that one more burst of elo- 
<iueuce would turn the scales. The keen, discerning eye of Kirkland 
saw the crisis, and rose to make the final speech. His brow was 
calm as evening's placid waters. In their own language, M'hich he 
.spoke most beautifully, he led them back to time when first he 
knew them ; afterward, with careful step he traced his waj- up to 
the present then, and drew tlie contrast. When the Great Spii'it 
dictates man, he must prevail: no eloquence like that which comes 
from lips moved by the Great Eternal. Kirkland never dreamed of 
i'ailure ; his faith and hope were strong. He did prevail. From that 
momentous hour, Oneida's sons buried the tomahawk, and always 
j)roved our friends. 

" With self-denial more than we can know, this holy man did labor, 
labored till auburn hair had blossomed white, and his firm step be- 
came uncertain. He sowed the seeds of truth, he reaped a glorious 
harvest. To see the natives 'look and live ' was all his heart's de- 
sire, and this he saw. 

" Should I pass by one certain act of that good man, you would 
think it wrong. Turn then your thoughts Air back, to that propitious 
day when Kirkland laid the corner-stone of our beloved college ; and 
as they gathered round, natives and all, his prayer went up like in- 
cense pure, that it might prosper. May be, his spirit hovers o'er 
to-day ; delightful thought ! Would you know where his ashes sleep ? 
On yonder hill side, go with me, my friends, and drop a tear ; not that 
he died, but that our path, compared with his, has been so crooked. 
But where is the tribe he loved so well, and for whose weal he sacri- 
ficed so much 1 Time would fail to tell ; it would take a volume of 
octavo size to state their wrongs. Tlie peeled and scattered rem- 
nants will reply." 

Rev. Samuel Kirkland was born at Norwich, Conn., on 
the 1st of December, 1741. His father, the Rev. Daniel 
Kirkland. was the minister of that part of the town of Nor- 



/ 



} 



204 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

wicb then called the parish of Newcut, and now the town of 
Lisbon. His mother's maiden name was Hannah Perkins. 
The Kirkland family, as the name indicates, is of Scotch 
descent, and in this country can be traced back to Saybrook, 
Conn., in 1635. Among the thirty-six heads of families 
who were the early settlers of that place, the name of John 
Kirkland appears, who is said to have come from Silver 
street, London. 

Samuel, the subject of these memoirs, was the tenth in a 
family of twelve children. Little is known of his childhood 
and early youth. The first that can be learned of him is as 
a student at the Rev. Dr. Wheelock's school, at Lebanon. 
Conn., in 1761. He was there highly esteemed and beloved. 
He entered the Sophomore class of Nassau Hall, Princeton, 
N. J., in the autumn of 1762, and received his degree at 
Princeton in course, at the commencement in 1765. He 
had, however, previously left college, and at the time his 
degree was conferred, he had entered upon his missionary 
labors for the Indians. While at school at Lebanon he had 
made considerable proficiency in the Mohawk dialect, under 
the instruction of a young native, a fellow-student. This 
shows that, thus early, he was preparing himself for a mis- 
sionary to the Six Nations. 

3Ir. Kirkland's mii^sionary expedition to the Senecas was 
undertaken at the early age of twenty-three, and was the 
first great act of his life, and abounded with romantic and 
perilous adventure. On his way, he arrived at Johnson 
Hall, the residence of Sir William Johnson, His Majesty's 
General Agent for Indian Affairs, on the 16th of November, 
1764. He was kindly received by Sir William, v/ho gave 
him a speech and a belt of wampum to deliver to the Sen- 
ecas. Sir William also furnished him with an escort of 
two trusty Indians of that tribe, each conveying a pack of 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 205 

forty pounds' weight. He left the Hall January 17, 1765, 
and made the journey on snow shoes. On arriving at 
Kanonwalohule (Oneida Castle), the principal village of the 
Oneidas, the Indians, after being made acquainted with the 
object of his mission, expressed some concern for his safety, 
and gave him an invitation to remain with them one year, 
before visiting the Senecas. He thanked them for their 
kind intentions, but told them he must proceed, unless 
Providence hedged up his path. On his route from Oneida 
to Onondaga, being unused to walk on snow shoes, his ancles 
became much swollen, and he stayed one night and most of 
the nest day at the latter place. As this was the central 
council fire of the Six Nations, the Onondagas claimed that 
the message of Sir William should first be delivered here. 
The missionary acceded to this, and gave the substance of 
the speech, to which the chief sachem replied, and then 
afiiectionately embraced him, which was followed by the 
others present shaking his hands. On the 7th of February, 
towards evening, twenty-three days after leaving Johnson 
Hall, he arrived at Kanadasegea, the principal town of the 
Senecas. The two guides had been very kind, going before 
to make a track for him, but still he suffered much from his 
swollen ancles. The day after his arrival a council was 
convened, and Sir William Johnson's address and belt of 
wampum delivered. These were thankfully received by 
the head sachem and a large majority of the nation, but 
there was, however, a small minority with sullen countenan- 
ces, and this minority, headed by an influential chief, subse- 
(]uently caused him great trouble. 

Mr. Kirkland was soon adopted into the family of the 
head chief; but the chief's house being crowded, it was 
determined that he should reside with a small family near 
by. In this family he was comfortable, and kindly treated ; 



20G ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

but in a short time his host died very suddenly in the nighty 
lie having been in perfect health the day previous. These 
circumstances were seized upon by the enemies of the mis- 
sion, and a council called, in which they tried to induce a 
decision for the death of the missionary. Better counsels, 
however, prevailed, the head sachem averting the threatened 
event. After this last council he lived in great harmony, 
friendship, and sociability. But famine drove him from his 
station near the end of April, and in company with his 
Indian brother and family, he returned to Sir AVilliani 
Johnson's. This journey was made in a bark canoe as for 
as the Oneida Lake; and on his way he called at Fort 
Brewerton, at the west end of the Lake, and enjoyed the 
hospitality of the commanding officer. Here the keenness 
of his appetite was such, that his host had to restrain him, 
to prevent his injuring his health. In crossing the Oneida 
Lake they were overtaken by a storm, and their danger was 
most imminent ; they, however, made for a point upon the 
northern shore, and upon striking which, their frail craft, 
having been so much strained, fell to pieces. They reached 
Johnson Hall in the early part of May, and the first saluta- 
tion of Sir William was, "My God, Mr. Kirklaud, you look 
like a whipping post." After staying about three weeks, 
pi'eparations were made for his return, and he was supplied, 
by Dr. Wheelock's order, with such necessaries as he would 
need the ensuing season. Sir William lent him a new blan- 
ket, "on condition he would never return it." A second- 
hand batteau was also presented him, in which to carry his 
provisions and baggage. His Indian brother, who had shared 
with him the downward passage, accompanied him on his 
return, and they reached Kanadasegea on the 29 th of June. 
For some time matters went on very pleasantly ; he had 
acquired such knowledge of the language as to be able to 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 207 

engage in common conversation ; his peace was, however, 
again disturbed by his old enemy the chief, who insisted that 
Mr. Kirkland's continuance would be the destruction of the 
nation, and announced it as his fixed purpose to put him to 
death if he did not leave ; and an attempt was made to put 
this threat into execution. A subordinate of the chief way- 
laid him, and snapped his gun at him twice, which fortun- 
ately missed fire. 

He left the Senecas in May, 176G, and arrived in Lebanon 
the 19th of that month. He was accompanied by a chief 
and his Indian brother, who were treated with great respect 
by the General Assembly, who were then in session. They 
were much aifected by the kindness they received, and were 
greatly surprised to find the country so thickly peopled. 

Mr. Kirkland was ordained on the 19th of June, and* 
the same day received a general commission as an Indian 
missionary from the Connecticut Board of Correspondents 
of the Society in Scotland. With his new commission he 
started, in July of that year, and took up his residence at 
Kanonwalohule, among the Oneidas. His principal reason 
for changing the field of his labors was, that he regarded the 
Oneidas, in moral qualities, as the noblest of the Six Nations, 
and altogether the most susceptible of religious impressions. 
His opportunities for arriving at a correct conclusion, had 
been good, for he had passed some time with this people in 
passing to and from the Seneca country. A strong friend- 
ship had already sprung vip between himself and some of the 
chiefs. He commenced his . missionary labors among the 
Oneidas about the first of August, 1766, and continued 
them, with but occasional interruptions, for more than forty 
years. In the November following, he succeeded in building 
himself a house, cutting and hewing the timber, and digging 
the cellar, with his own hands. Mr. Kirkland cultivated a. 



; 



■208 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP, 

garden on tie same ground now occupied for the same pur- 
pose by Hon. Timothy Jenkins. Among his first acts was 
an attempt to stop the tide of intemperance, in which he was 
quite successful. Eight of the chief men were appointed 
to seize all the intoxicating liquors which could he found, 
and destroy, or otherwise dispose of them. The effects of 
this strong measure were such, that about eighty casks of 
rum were carried through the town, and offered for sale, and 
even to be given away, yet not in one instance were the 
Indians prevailed upon to take it. 

The Divine blessing soon followed his labors. Many 
individuals and families were converted to the Christian 
faith, and continued firm, adorning their profession by lives 
of sobriety, industry, integrity, and piety. They became 
the steadfast "helpers in Christ Jesus" of their spiritual 
teacher. His poverty was such, however, as to retard his 
usefulness. In 1 769 he received the first pecuniary assist- 
ance from the Society in Scotland. An order drawn upon 
John Thornton, for one hundred pounds sterling, was sent 
him, and James Baine, of Scotland, sent him in addition 
thirty pounds. 

In the spring of 1769, his health having failed him, he 
took a short respite to regain it. He spent the summer in 
Connecticut, and on the 15th of September of that year, he 
was married to Jerusha Bingham, the daughter of a respec- 
table farmer. She was indeed an excellent woman, and well 
fitted, by her good sense and devout heart, to become the 
wife of a missionary. Shortly after his marriage, he returned 
to his post, accompanied by his wife. As it was necessary 
to enlarge his house from ten to sixteen feet square, he left 
Mrs. Kirkland in the family of Gen. Herkimer, on the 
Mohawk, until he could accomplish it. This being com- 
pleted, he removed her to her new residence in the latter 



;:ill.] KIRKLAND. 209 

part of December. Mrs. Kirkland's influence was soon felt 
in introducing order, neatness, industry, purity, and devotion 
among the Oneida women. 

In 1G70, Mr. Kirkland visited Boston, when he was taken 
under the patronage of the Boston Board, and a sahary of 
one hundred pounds a year as their missionary, and thirty 
pounds additional in consideration of his great pains and 
expense in learning the principal dialects of the Six Nations. 
Through the aid of the Bostoii Board, seconding the exer- 
tions of the Indians, a meeting house, saw and grist mills, 
and a blacksmith's shop, were erected, and farming utensils 
purchased, in the course of a felv years. The progress of a 
portion of the nation in acquiring the habits and arts of civil- 
ized life, as well as in Christianity, was rapid. The corres- 
pondence of this period between Mr. Kirkland and the 
Society in Scotland, shows that his missionary services were 
highly appi'eciated by the Society. 

Early in the summer of 1770, Mrs. Kirkland started, on 
liorseback, for the residence of her mother, in Connecticut, 
but was unable to proceed farther than Gren. Herkimer's, at 
the foot of Fall Hill, on the Mohawk. Here she remained 
^several weeks, and on the 17th of August gave birth to twin 
sons, named by their father, after his esteemed friends, 
<jreorge Whitfield and John Thornton. During her illness 
she received a letter from the celebrated Greorge Whitfield, 
full of Christian consolation. As soon as her strength 
permitted, she returned to Oneida, to the great joy of the 
Indians, who immediately adopted the boys into the tribe, 
giving George the name La-go-ne-ost, and John that of 
Ah-gan-o-wis-ka, that is, Fair Face. 

Mrs. Kirkland passed the winter of 1772-73 in Stoek- 
bi^idge, Massachusetts ; and as the turbulent times preceding 
and during the Revolution now commenced, she did not 

14 



210 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

return to Oneida until after the jieace of 1783. A small 
farm was purchased at that place, upon •yvhich she and her 
family resided. Mr. Kirkland, however, continued his resi- 
dence and labors, as well as the unsettled state of the country 
would permit. He endeavored to keep the Indians in a 
state of neutrality, and this seems to have been the object 
of Congress, as appears by its records. (See chapter on 
Indian History.) With the Oneida^s he was to a great 
extent, although not entirely, successful, in the early periods 
of the contest ; but subsequently, about two hundred and 
fifty warriors, under the celebrated chief Skenandoa, ren- 
dered important service to the United States. 

Mr. Kirkland was commissioned as chaplain by the Con- 
tinental Congress, and performed duty as such at Fort 
Stanwix, and other posts in the vicinity, during a large 
portion of the Hevolutionary contest. In 1779 he was 
Brigade Chaplain in General Sullivan's campaign against 
the Indians, on the Susquehanna and tho western part of 
New York, and witnessed that terrible retribution which was 
meted out by that General, for the British and savage bar- 
barities inflicted upon our frontier. He continued with the 
expedition until late in the fall, when he visited bis family 
at Stoekbridge. During the remainder of the war, he spent 
the most of his time at Fort Stanwix and at Oneida Castle, 
as Kanonwalohule was then and is now called. 

In 1784 he again renewed his labors among the Oneidas, 
as directed by the Boston Board for the Society in Scotland. 
That Society, however, very properly refused to pay him his 
salary while employed as chaplain by Congress. 

In the fall of 1784, a great Council of the Six Nations was 
called at Fort Stanwix, at which commissioners on the part 
of the United States attended, and Mr. Kirkland was pre- 
sent as interpreter, and aided, by his advice to the Indians, 
in bringing them to agree to terms of peace. 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 211 

In 1786, a general religious awakening occurred among 
the Indians of Mr. Kirkland's charge at Oneida, and more 
than seventy souls in the villages were under serious im- 
pressions. The external reformation was conspicuous ; and 
for more than seven months not a single instance of drunken- 
ness was known in two of the villages. The pagan party in 
the tribe were much annoyed by this state of things, and 
laid a plan to take the life of the Missionary. In this they 
were defeated by the Christian Indians, who hid him during 
the night in which the murder was to have been perpetrated, 
and in a council held the next day, the pagans were brought 
to terms, and asked Mr. Kirkland's pardon. His journals 
for 1786 and 1787 gave full satisfaction to the Society in 
Scotland. 

During the residence of Mr. Kirkland's family in Stock- 
bridge were born his son Samuel and three daughters, 
Jei'usha, Sally, and Eliza. 

"While Mr. Kirkland was on a visit to his family in 
January, 1788, Mrs. Kirkland died. She was an excellent 
woman, w^fe, and mother. This was a severe blow to the 
mission, to the missionary, the husband, and the father, and 
his plan of removing his family to Oneida the following 
spring was frustrated ; he therefore returned solitary and 
alone to his labors. A considerable part of the summer of 
178S was spent on a tour among the western nations of the 
confederacy, as far as Buffalo Creek. At that place he found 
a large concourse assembled, principally from the Six Nations, 
with some Delawares, Cherokees, and other western and south- 
ern Indians, and here he met many of his friends of the 
Senecas, with whom he had become acquainted in 1 765, and 
the greeting was most cordial. At this council he had in- 
terviews with Indians from every village and branch of the 
Six Nations, and their whole population, from the best infor- 



'212 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

matioii he could acquire, was tlien 4,350, exclusive of the 
IMohawks, who had removed to Grand liiver, in Canada. 
He also had an interview with the celebrated Brant, in 
which that great chieftain informed him, he had been trying 
to unite the Indians in a confederacy, independent of white 
people, that a delegation from the Six Nations had visited 
twenty tribes, and that belts had been received importing a 
compliance with this plan, from all these nations. The ob- 
ject of this alliance was, the peace and good of Indians, and 
not war with either Britons or Americans. This was a wise 
and righteous policy, and well worthy its originator. 

The main object of this council was the extinguishment of 
the Indian title to a tract of 6,144,000 acres, familiarly 
called the Genesee Country. This land was granted by 
New York to Massachusetts, and sold by the latter State to 
Phelps & Gorham, for $1,000,000. This price at the pre- 
sent day, and but little more than sixty years afterwards, 
seems a low price for lands now worth on an average i$60 
per acre. For Mr. Kirkland's services at this treaty, Messrs. 
Phelps & Gorham subsequently gave him a deed of 2,000 
acres, located in Ontario County, in the seventh township, 
seventh range of towns. 

Returning from this tour the latter part of August, he 
resumed his labors among the Oneidas. At this period, the 
intrigues and influence of the French tradex'S among the 
Indians, began to interfere with his usefulness. In the 
spring of 1789, a French Roman Catholic Priest, who was 
a Jesuit, came to Oneida, and took up his residence near the 
lake, and claimed to have been sent by the French Ambas- 
sador at New York. Assisted by one Pennet, a French 
trader of great shrewdness, a considerable French party was 
soon formed among the Indians. Mr. Kirkland carefully 
avoided all disputes between the American and French 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 213 

parties. The spirit of animosity rose to sueli a pitch as to 
endanger the peace of the tribe. The author of this work 
recollects of hearing, when but a small lad, his father state 
that this quarrel at one time had risen so high, that nineteen 
Indians of one party and twenty of the other, all armed to 
the teeth, met with the determination to settle the matter 
by trial of battle, and for this purpose they had chosen a large 
room, where they had all met, and were about to commence 
their murderous contest, — which, had they proceeded with 
their purpose, would have eventuated in the almost entire 
extermination of the whole party, so equally balanced were 
they as to strengtli and numbers, — when Mr. Kirkland by 
some means heard of the meeting of the parties and its 
object, and at once went to them, and obtained admission. 
He then proceeded, in one of his most glowing speeches, to 
depict the wickedness and folly of their shedding each other's 
blood, and with such efiect upon his savage auditors, that 
they were induced to forego their work of slaughter. 

During the difficulties between the American and French 
parties, each had written to Grovernor Clinton, of New York, 
on the subject, who returned tlie following answer, which 
was translated to a full council of the tribe. This letter is 
so replete with plain common sense argument, that it is be- 
lieved it will well repay the perusal of every reader. 

New York, September 12, 178'J. 
"Brothers: — I have received j^our letters, and shall give you an 
answer. Mr. Pennet is only to be considered among you as an ad- 
venturing merchant, pursuing his own interest. He holds no oflice. 
nor does he sustain any puljlic character in this country, lie at- 
tempts to deceive yoii, therefore, when he says he is sent by the 
King of France and the Marquis La Fayette, to transact bu.siness 
with you. You ought not to listen to his 'speeches, nor pay any 
attention to his dreams.* 

* Pennet had dreamed that the Oneidas gave him five miles square of Ihcii- 
best land. 



214 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

" The King of Franco is our good ally, and he has an ambassador 
here (whom you saw with me at Fort Stanwix last fall) to transact 
business and maintain friendship with the United States ; but he has 
nothing to do with any particular State, or the Indians residing in it. 
You must not, therefore, believe Mr. Pennet, when he says he is 
sent among you by the ambassador. I believe the priest now among 
you came at the request of Mr. Pennet and his friends. They have 
a right to worship God in a manner most agreeable to them; but I 
api)rove of your determination to adhere to your old minister, tor I 
fear the preaching of different doctrines among you will only serve 
to perplex and puzzle your understandings ; and divisions, either in 
respect to your temporal or spiritual concerns, may prove dangerous 
to your welfare and prosperity. 

" Brothers : — I am happy to hear you are firmly united as to our 
late agreement, and you may be assured that it Avill be faithfully 
adhered to on the part of the State. 

" Let me exhort you to sobriety and industry, for it is this alone, 
by the blessing of the Great Si)irit, that can secure to j'our comfort 
and happiness. 

'• I am your friend and brother, George Clinton." 



This letter did much to produce quiet, for it unmasked 
the character of Pennet, and confirmed the wavering. 

The year 1790 was one of comparative quiet. Taught a 
lesson of wisdom by the severe sufferings from famine the 
previous year, the Indians paid greater attention to agri- 
culture. One family harvested more than one hundred 
bushels of wheat, a greater quantity than had been ever 
raised before in the territory of the Six Nations by Indian 
culture. 

The only incident giving variety to the life of the mission- 
ary this summer, was the arrival of Count Adriani, an 
Italian nobleman, who spent several days at Oneida ; and 
the chief pleasure Mr. Kirkland derived from this visit, 
was in the confirmation of his own previous opinion respect- 
ing the musical powers of the Indians. The Count said 
he thought " the melody of their music, and the softness and 



j:ii.] kirklanb. 215 

richness of their voices, were equal te any he ever heard in 
Italy." 

lu January, 1791, Mr. Kirklantl again visited his chil- 
dren, but shortly returned to resume Jiis arduous duties. A 
difficulty of long standing between the Wolf tribe and the 
Turtle and Bear tribes, caused by the Intrigues of the 
French traders, was brought by him to a peaceful issue. He 
wrote to General Knox, advising the sending of Capt. Hen- 
drick, a Stockbridge Indian, upon a mission to the western 
and south-western tribes. The plan was approved, and 
Capt. Hendrick sent, to endeavor to keep these Indians in a 
state of peace ; he was, however, unsuccessful, and the bloody 
defeat of St. Clair followed in November. 

In January, 1792, in compliance with the wish of Gen. 
Knox, Secretary of War, Mr. Kirkland attended a council 
of the Sis Nations at Geneseo. The object of this council 
was to induce the Six Nations to send a delegation to 
Philadelphia, then the seat of government of the United 
States. After surmounting many difficulties, Mr. Kirkland 
was at last successful, and a delegation of forty reached 
Philadelphia late in March. Mr. Kirkland's conduct was 
entirely approved by the War Dep-artment. Indeed, the 
credit of bringing this large representation of the Six Nations 
to the seat of government is due, and the success attending 
the measure is attributable, mainly to his efforts and influ- 
ence with the Indians. Its results were highly important, 
for there had .been previously a strong disposition among 
the Six Nations, with the exception of the Oneidas, to make 
common cause with the western Indians in their hostility to 
the United States. Had they done so, the frontiers of New 
York and Pennsylvania, instead of the territory north-west 
of the Ohio, would have been the seat of savage warfare and 
barbarity. Such a calamity was averted by the visit to the 



216 ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAPt. 

seat of government of so large a number of chiefs. Mr. 
Kirkland returned to Oneida about the middle of May, 
rejoicing in being able to return to the immediate duties of 
his mission, but with a consciousness that he had been in 
the way of his duty, and had rendered some service to his 
country, to the Indians, and to the cause of humanity. 

Tlie fiimily of Mr. Kirkland had, in October, 1791, re- 
moved to the land given him by the Indians and the State. 
After his return from Philadelphia, in May, 1792, he spent 
the summer in the discharge of his missionary duties, and 
superintending the measures adopted by government for the 
instruction of the Indians in agriculture and the arts of 
civilized life. Additional oxen, plows, and other farming 
implements, were purchased and distributed. 

In August he attended the commencement of Dartmouth 
College, and took with him an Oneida chief, by the name of 
Onondega, but called by the whites Captain John. During 
the exercises. President Wheeloek addressed Captain John, 
and the latter replied, and in the close of his remarks he 
addressed the graduating class, in a strain of wisdom which 
v/ould be an ornament in the address of any President of a 
college in his counsels to the young men at the close of their 
collegiate studies. 

In October, Mr. Kirkland injured one of his eyes while 
riding through the woods from his residence, near Clinton, 
tu Oneida, and in December his sight and general health 
had become so much aflfeeted, that his physician recom- 
mended a journey, and application to oculists in New York 
and Philadelphia. He was the more disposed to make this 
journey, because, in addition to the benefit to his health, it 
would enable him to do something for the furtherance of an 
object he had near his heart. His plan for the education of 
the Indians embraced a High School or Academy. An 



XII.J KIRKLAND. 217 

institution of this kind, to be located near what was then 
the boundary line between the white and Indian population, 
Mr. Kirkland had long regarded as of great importance for 
the improvement of both. This project was warmly seconded 
by all the intelligent and influential persons who had emi- 
grated from New England to the towns of Whitestown, 
Paris, and Westmoreland. They had faint hopes indeed of 
any great benefit to the Indians, but felt its importance to 
the growing communities around them. In his journey he 
saw and conversed with many influential individuals on the 
subject. At Philadelphia he saw President Washington, 
who " expressed a warm interest in the Institution ;" and at 
New York he saw the Grovcrnor of the State and the Regents 
of the University, and took the initiatory steps for a char- 
ter. Mr. Hamilton had previously consented to be named 
as one of the trustees in the petition for incorporation. 

Early in 1793 the institution was incorporated, by the 
name of " Hamilton Oneida Academy." But Mr. Kirk- 
land's services to the institution, did not end here. In April 
of that year he made it a valuable donation in lands, the 
preamble to the title-deed of which is as follows; — '"A 
serious consideration of the importance of education, and 
an early improvement and cultivation of the human mind, 
together with the situation of the frontier settlement of this 
part of the State, though extensive and flourishing, yet 
de^stitute of any well regulated seminary of learning, has 
induced and determined me to contribute of the ability 
wherewith my Heavenly Benefactor hath blessed me, towards 
laying the foundation and support of a school, or academy, 
in the town of Whitestown, County of Herkimer, contiguous 
to the Oneida Nation of Indians, for the mutual benefit of 
the young and flourishing settlements in said county, and 
the various tribes of confederated Indians, earnestly wishing 



218 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the institution may grow and floiu-ish, that the advantages 
of it may be extensive and lasting, and that, under the smiles 
of the Grod of wisdom and goodness, it may prove an emi- 
nent means of diffusing useful knowledge, enlarging the 
bounds of human happiness, aiding the reign of virtue and 
the kingdom of the blessed Redeemer." 

This preamble is followed by a deed conveying to the 
trustees of Hamilton Oneida Academy several parcels of 
land, containing in all several hundred acres. One lot of 
twelve acres was declared to be inalienable, and this is the 
" ground plot," as it is termed, upon which Hamilton College 
now stands. The remainder of the lots were left to the 
disposition of said trustees. The establishment of this 
school was the last important act in Mr. Kirkland's life. 

The Pennet party caused him much trouble, and in 1794 
they made an unsuccessful effort to have him superseded. 
The Rev. Drs. Belknap and Morse were appointed a com- 
mittee by the board to investigate the grounds of complaint, 
and reported favorably to Mr. Kirkland, and upon this 
report, and tlie testimony adduced by him, the board dis- 
missed the complaint. 

In 1795, by the stumbling of his horse, Mr. Kirkland 
was thrown upon the hard ground, with great violence. He 
never recovered from the effects of this fall, but for five or 
six years was much of the time an invalid. 

In 1797, the Society in Scotland dissolved its connection 
with Mr. Kirkland, and about the same time the Society 
discontinued most of its missionary operations in the United 
States. In 180-5 his youngest son, Samuel, died in Boston, 
and in 180G his son George W., in Jamaica. 

As far as health would permit, Mr. Kirkland continued 
his labors at Oneida through life. The Christian church at 
that place, as long as he survived, regarded him as their 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 219 

missionary and pastox*. In one of Lis last communications 
to the Society tie says, — "Whether I hold the office [of 
missionary] or not, while I live, and have any capacity for 
service, I must do much of the duty. I know their language 
and manners, I love them, and they me. I have learned to 
bear with their ignorance, their perverseness, their dulness, 
and not be angry, or despondent. They must and always 
will come to me, and expect to receive counsel, instruction, 
sympathy, and hospitality." He frequently expended the 
whole of his salary in his hospitality to them, and it was 
no unusual thing for him to furnish seventy, eighty, and 
even a hundred meals in a single week to the Indians. 
Even after his death they seemed to expect, and claimed 
almost as a right, the same attention and hospitality they 
had ever received in his lifetime. 

After a brief but severe illness, he died of pleurisy, on 
the 28th of February, 1808. His remains were carried to 
the church in Clinton, where a funeral sermon was preached 
by the Rev. Dr. Norton. He was interred in a private 
grave near his house, where, on one side, rest the remains of 
his widow* and youngest daughter, and on the other the 
celebrated Skenandoa. 

His daughters were all' married : Jerusha, the eldest, (now 
the sole survivor of the family.) in 1797, to John H. Loth- 
rop, Esq., of Utica ; the next, Sarah, in 1804, to Francis 
Aiuory, of Boston, and the youngest, Eliza, in 1818, to Rev. 
Edward Robinson, J). D., then Professor in Hamilton Col- 
lege, and subsequently known as an oriental traveller, and 
now a Professor in the Union Theological Seminary of New 
York City. His sons George W. and Samuel died un- 
married ; John T. married late in life, and had no children, 

* Mr. Kirkland was married a second time. His .second wile sur- 
vived liim several years, and it is her remains that rest beside liis. 



220 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

SO that there is no descendant of Mr. Kirkland bearing bis 
name. 

Perhaps the reader may think that the memoirs of Mr. 
Kirkland liave been made too prolix for a work of this kind. 
The incidents of his life were, however, so varied, and 
abound with so many important and useful data, that, in 
the opinion of the writer, they could not have been abridged 
without detracting materially fiom the instruction they fur- 
nish, and the interest they possess. To have omitted more, 
would have been to mar the fair proportions of the super- 
structure, — "a well spent life." Much of detail, and man}- 
things possessing interest to the various classes of readers, 
are necessarily omitted for want of room. For the materials 
of this sketch, the autlior is chiefly indebted to tlie Life of 
BIr. K'lrldand^ written by his grandson, Samuel Kirkland 
Lothrop. 

Moses Foote, who was the "leading spirit" of Clinton, 
was born August 4, 1734, in the town of Waterbury, Conn. 
He was the son of Moses Foot, who was born January 13. 
1702, who was the son of Nathaniel Foote, who was born 
April 13, 1G60, and he the son of Robert Foote, who was 
born about 1627, and he the son of Deacon Nathaniel Foote, 
who was born about 1593, and emigrated from England to 
Wethersfield, Conn. 

The subject of this sketch was twice married, first to 
Thankful Bronson, of Waterbury, August 12, 175G; by 
this marriage he had one son, Bronson Foote, who was a 
soldier of the Revolution, and died in Clinton, August 30, 
1 S3G, aged 79. The second marriage was to Amy Richards, 
May 17, 1758, and by which he had nine children, viz. : — 
Ira, Thankful, Luther, Amy and Anna (twins), Moses, 
Arunah, Jairus and Betsey (twins). Of these, Thankful, 



Xn.] KIRKLAND. 221 

(the wife of Major Barnabas Pond.) Amy, Moses, Arunah, 
and Betsey, (tlie wife of Deacon Gold Benedict,) died in 
Clinton. Little is known of the biography of Mr. Foote, 
other than that related in the account of the early settlement 
of Clinton. He was engaged as a soldier in securing the 
independence of his country, the contest for which had but 
just closed when he put his fortitude to a severer test, by 
emigrating to the vicinity of the Oneidas, and subduing a 
portion of the tangled, heavily-timbered forest. 

He was eminently fitted by nature for a pioneer settler, 
endowed with an iron frame, full six feet in height, and of a 
temperament and muscular texture capable of almost any 
amount of hardship and privation, and also possessing a large 
share of native shrewdness and sagacity. He lived to wit- 
ness the progress of society, as it swept like an avalanche 
over Central and "Western New York, making the wilderness 
literally to "blossom like the rose." He lived to see his own 
Clinton become a flourishing village, with a well-endowed 
college within its bounds ; he lived to see also the commence- 
ment of that stupendous work, the Erie Canal, and its middle 
section nearly completed, and agricultural products raised 
upon lands cleared by his own hands, transported upon its 
bosom to the Atlantic markets ; and this, too, over a route a 
portion of which, forty years before, he had on foot threaded 
his way, without even that first impress of civilization, — a 
road. He died in Clinton, February 9, 1819, aged 84. 

It may not be improper here to say, that John aaid Ado- 
nijah Foote, brothers, who were early settlers in the town of 
Vernon, and the former of whom died in that town, in 1833, 
the latter still living, were descendants from the same stocky 
as also was the Hon. Elial T. Foote, who for about twenty- 
five years was a Judge, and the last twenty yeaas of the time,: 
First Judge of Chautauque County, 



222 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

Jesse Curtiss. — In the foregoing sketch of the history 
of the town of Kirkhxnd, the author has made "honorable 
mention" of the name of Jesse Curtiss, but since it was 
penned, he too. " like a shock of corn, fully ripe," has been 
gathered to his fathers. An obituary, published in the 
Oneida Whig shortly after his death, and from which the 
following are extracts, is but a just tribute to departed 
worth. 

" Died, at his residence in Clinton, Oneida County, N. Y., on the 
19th of January, 1850, Jesse Curtiss, Esq., aged 83 j'ears. 

" The press is often called itpon to record the names of that race 
of men of fearless hearts, honest heads, and iron sinews, who settled 
the County of Oneida. One by one the survivors of another gene- 
ration are departing, and soon the last foot-print of the last veteran 
Mill vanish from the shores of time. In this class was found Mr. 
Curtiss. He was born in Plymouth, Conn., of a sturdy Puritan an- 
cestry, and at the age of twenty-two years emigrated to Clinton, 
M'ith no resoiu'ces save his integrity and his enterprise. ' He came 
from Utica in the spring, and brought on his back, from the log huts 
at that place, a skippel (three pecks) of seed wheat.' His was not 
a life of wild turmoil and lawless excitement ; no bloody feats in 
arms, no direful carnage, were his to tell. But ' peace lias its tri- 
umphs,' and in these he bore no inferior part. 

" The following account of the building of his house is taken from 
the 'Early History of Clinton,' and it develops at once the rudeness 
of the laud and the energy of the man : — 

"About the 20th day of October, 1789, the snow fell to the depth 
of nearly tAvo feet, upon a bed of mud not much less ; the weather 
became cold and inclement, and most forbidding to the wayfarer 
and laborer. Precisely at this time, a settler, zealous to build a 
frame house before the winter should set in with its full severity, 
went to Capt. Cassety's saw mill, and for three days and two nights, 
alone, and without rest or intermission, continued to saw the lum- 
ber necessary for the building. When the task was ended, his hands 
were glazed as if by fire, from using so constantly the cold iron bars 
of the saw mill ; he felt himself well repaid, however, for all his 
toil and fatigue, for in a few days he reared a frame dwelling sixteen 
feet square. That dwelling is now the kitchen of Mr. Horatio Curtiss, 
and that diligent settler was Jesse Curtiss, already mentioned.' 

" With but little confidence in mere theory, he was a practical 
farmer, and furnishes one of the most striking examples to be found 



XII.] KIRKLAND. 22S 

in the county, of tlie success which follows unceasing industry and 
economy. On the same farm of fifty acres on which he first located, 
he lived for more than sixty years, engaged in no other pursuit 
except such oflSces of trust and honor as his fellow-citizens conferred 
upon him. AVith no other means of acquiring property, he made 
the farm a garden, and himself a man of good estate ; he brought 
up and established in life his children, and retained to the day of 
his death a handsome competency. The golden stream, if it was 
not quick and violent, was constant and luiceasing. 

'■ Mr. Curtiss was eminently an useful man in all the departments 
of life ; a man of decided piety, and yet no zealot. A firm sup- 
porter of public and private morals, he was always in the foremost 
rank in the promotion of every useful and benevolent enterprise. 
Education never had a more steadfast friend. For sixty years the 
common school ■w'as not beneath his fostering care, and our acade- 
mies and college can bear grateful witness to his repeated benefac- 
tions. 

"In the political history of the county, and especially of the 'Old 
ToMii of Paris,' Mr. Curtiss was a prominent actor. A decided 
politician, he all his life maintained an uniform course, and was ever 
found doing valiant service for his party and his countrj'. No 
resistance ever dismayed him, and no obstacle ever diverted him 
from his path. The confidence of the county honored him with a 
seat in the Legislature, and for twenty-eight successive years he 
was Supervisor of the town. 

'' The Old Town of Paris !" How many striking recollections are 
stirred up by these words, and what changes in that town have been 
witnessed by the departed ! When he became one of its citizens, it 
was a wilderness, embracing nearly the present Second Assembly 
District, with here and there an opening cut by the pioneer. Two 
hundred souls was its whole population, but they were the seed of a 
mighty people. Now, they have grown to 20,000 in number, and its 
village spires, its massive manufactories, and its schools, testify to 
the sterling character of its earlier inhabitants, and to its present 
prosperity, morals, and intelligence. 

" It was no small honor to have the confidence of such a commu- 
nity ; and for almost half a century, the names of Jesse Curtiss, 
Isaac Miller, Henry McNiel, and Kirtland GriflSn, were identified 
with the political power of the town. All these have departed ; the 
sharpness of party politics may at times have produced dislike and 
political, or even personal unkindness, yet that was transient, and 
they have sunk to their graves in peace, honored and beloved by 
the generation that succeeded them." 



224 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAF. 

At the time of his death, Mr. Curtiss was possessed of 
one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Bible in the United 
States. It was published in Geneva, by John Crespin, in 
1568, and is, therefore, 282 years old. On its blank leaves 
it contains written evidence that it was owned by the Curtiss 
family as early as 1636. Although it carries unmistakable 
proof in its appearance of having been thoroughly '• search- 
ed," yet it is in good repair and preservation. 



XIII.] LEE. 225 



CHAPTER XIII. 



LEE. 



The first settlement made within the town of Lee, was by 
two brothers, Stephen and Reuben Sheldon, in the year 
1790. They located on the west bank of the Mohawk 
River, on the site of the present village of Delta, at that 
time there not being one house between them and Fort 
Stanwix. Others soon moved into their immediate vicinity, 
among whom were David Smith, Daniel Spinning, John 
Spinning, Benjamin Spinning, Stephen Salisbury, and Nich- 
olas Salisbury. Soon after the arrival of these pioneers, 
Nathan Barlow, William Taft. Dan Miller, Smith Miller, 
John Hall, Frederic Sprague, and a Mr. Hale, moved into 
the present limits of Lee, and commenced the settlement of 
"'Lee Centre" and its vicinity. As early as 1795, James 
Young, Charles Ufford, Elisha Parke, a Mr. Potter, and 
some others, whose names can not be ascertained, had re- 
moved to the place, and reinforced the settlement at the 
Centre. The first settlers of Lee in general were men of 
limited means, and with their but small capital had to over- 
come the hardships of a new country, and to endure many 
privations before they had cleared and cultivated sufficient 
land to insure a competence. They were, however, indus- 
trious and frugal, they labored hard and fared hard, but 
they were persons seemingly raised up for the purpose of 
settling a new country ; they were temperate and healthy, 

15 



226 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP, 

aud, witli the blessing of Providence, were prosperous, cou- 
teuted, and happy. 

It may not be entirely uninteresting to give the ideas of 
the old settlers of this section of the county before their 
removal, together with that of their friends in Connecticut 
at the time. It is given in their own language, as narrated 
by one of the descendants of the pioneers of Lee. now resid- 
ing in the town. 

The Military Tract, consisting of the bount}- land given 
by the State of New York to her revolutionary soldiers, — 
now the Counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, was 
said to be '-so far off, and so near the ends of the earth, they 
supposed it never would be settled by a civilized people." 
What is now Lee and Western were described as "away up 
the Mohawk River, away beyond Fort Stanwix. inhabited 
only by bears, wolves, and Indians." A land 

'^ Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey. 
Or men more fierce and wild than they." 

The ideas of these good peoj)le of the "land of steady 
habits," could hardly in these days be considered as very 
correct in relation to the settling of tlie Military Tract, but 
they undoubtedly were as to the inhabitants, "bears, wolves, 
and Indians" being then the only occupants of this town. 

Although the two sections noticed were the earliest settled, 
the whole of the southern part of this town was soon dotted 
with emigrants from New England. The westerly part of 
the town, on the former State Road, now the Rome and 
Taberg plank road, was not far behind the Delta and Centre 
sectious of the town. 

At the time of its settlement, the territory composing the 
present town of Lee consisted of the following" patents or 
tracts of land: — Scriba's Patent, Oothoudt's Patent, includ- 



xm.] 



^o: 



ing Bowne's Purchase, Banyar's Patent, Fonda's Patent, 
Matehin's or Mcllwaine's Tract, Boon's, Cooper's, or Mappa's 
Tract. A part of Scriba's Patent, known' as the 6,000 acre 
tract in township No. 1, and a part of the 4.000 acre tract in 
township No. 2, were sold to Daniel C. White, John W. 
Bloomfield, John Hall, George Huntington, and others. 
There is a tract of land lying in the west part of the town. 
(and extending into the town of Annsville.) known as the 
Franklin and Robinson, or Quaker Tract. It was originally 
a part of Scriba's Patent, but was not a part either of the 
6,000 or 4,000 acre tracts, and extended to Fish Creek, and 
is intersected by the town line. 

As the settlement of the " Whitestown Country" pro- 
gressed, towns were organized with an extent of territory 
only regulated by its number of inhabitants. As the popu- 
lation increased rapidly, divisions and subdivisions of the 
towns and counties followed in quick succession. The 
earliest inhabitants of this town first found themselves in 
Montgomery County, then in Herkimer; and then in Oneida; 
first in the town of Whitestown ; second, in Mexico ; third, 
in Steuben ; fourth, in Western ; and fifth, in the good town 
of Lee. The town of Lee was organized in 1811, since 
which time its boundaries have only been changed by having 
a part of Annsville taken from it. It is bounded on the 
north by the town of Ava, on the west by Annsville and 
Fish Creek, on the south by Rome, and on the east by 
Western. It seems that for a short time previous to its 
organization, its territory, or at least a portion of it, was 
known by the name of Worcester, but on its organization, 
James Young, junior, of Lee, and Joshua Northrup, of 
Western, who were members of the committee appointed to 
get the new town organized by the Legislature, and select a 
name, and who were both emigrants from the town of Lee, 



228 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Mass., proposed that name for the new town, which was 
adopted by the Legislature. The area of the town contains 
about 29,000 acre's. 

By the act of the Legislature forming the town of Lee, 
the first town meeting was to be held at the school house, 
near Samuel Darlington's. (This school house is hereafter 
noticed as the first erected in the town.) The town meeting 
was held agreeably to the terms of the act, on the third day 
of March, 1812, and elected James Young, junior. Super- 
visor, and West Waterman, Town Clerk. The town has 
now been organized forty years, and the following list gives 
the names of those who have served as Supervisors, and the 
number of years each has served: — 

John Young, junior 2 years. 

John Hall 3 " 

William Parke 16 " 

Daniel Twitchell 8 " 

James N. Husted 2 '' 

Freeman Perry 1" 

LjTnan Sexton --2" 

John J. Castle ....... 2 '• 

Jerome Cheesebrough ------1" 

Mansir Q. Phillips 1 " 

Charles Stokes (the present incumbent) - - 2 •' 

The southerly portion of the town, which has but a slight 
elevation from the village of Rome, has a very warm, pro- 
ductive soil, some sections of which resemble the cobble stone 
and gravelly plain on which the village of Rome is located, 
while other sections are a sandy loam. There is no part of 
the county better adapted than this to the raising of Indian 
corn ; indeed, it produces well all those kinds of grain and 
grass cultivated in Central New York. From this portion 
of the town, the land rises to an altitude approximating the 
high lands in the north part of the county. This is a good 



XIII.] LEE. 229 

section for pasturage, grass, oats, potatoes, etc. ; and its farm- 
ers are now turning their attention to dairying and the 
raising of stock, as the most productive farming of which their 
soil is capable ; and it is worthy of remark, that the more 
elevated portions of the county, where the agriculturists are 
engaged in dairying and the raising of stock, are full equally 
flourishing with those parts adapted to the raising of grain, 
however much more these sections are inviting in appear- 
ance. On Fish Creek, where it forms the north-west boun- 
dary of the town, there are extensive quarries of good building 
stone. Other than these, there are no quarries, and the in- 
habitants in the other sections have to use for building 
purposes, the small bowlders and cobble stone in their 
neighborhood, or draw them quite a distance. 

The early settlers were much annoyed by bears and 
wolves, committing depredations on their herds of swine and 
flocks of sheep. The large tract of low land and swamp on 
Wood Creek, towards its confluence with the Oneida Lake, 
made a sure retreat in the day time for these pests of the 
new settlers, and the proximity of their place of shelter to 
these new settlements, enabled them to gratify their appetites 
for pork and mutton at the expense of the inhabitants. To 
obviate this, these domestic animals had to be driven up and 
yarded each night, and it was surprising how soon the flocks 
of sheep would learn the voice of their owner in collecting 
them to their place of safety, their numbers often made 
minus one or two, even in the day time. 

Two sons of the Emerald Isle, by the name of Thomas 
and Henry Cunningham, were rolling logs, to clear a farm 
they had purchased, when they heard the most piteous cries 
from one of their porkers, proceeding from the edge of the 
forest, in the immediate vicinity of where they were at work. 
Not wishing to part with their embryo bacon without making 



230 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

an effort, they flew to the rescue, with no other or better 
offensive weapons than the handspikes with which they were 
at work. When they had got to the place of the encounter, 
they found Bruin had the hog in close embrace, and had 
already commenced making a meal from that which its 
owners had fondly anticipated would in the fall have formed 
one of the substantial for the feeding of their own house- 
holds. The trespasser could very readily have parried the 
blows of one assailant, but had not an extra eye nor arm for 
the two, especially when the blows fell in most rapid suc- 
cession, and soon the depredator had to yield the contest 
and his life, to a well-aimed heavy blow on the cranium. 
This was on the farm now owned by George Kemington. 

The first child born in the town was Fenner Sheldon, a 
son of Reuben Sheldon, one of the two brothers who first 
settled at Delta. He was born in the year 1791, and yet 
resides in the town, in the vicinity of "Lee Centre." His 
parents were advised to apply to the patentees for a land 
warrant for their son, as the first-born in that vicinity; but 
if the application was made, it must have been unsuccessful, 
as the son never received the "bounty land." 

The first death in Lee was that of a young man named 
Job Kaird, aged twenty years, who died in 1798. His 
disease was the bilious putrid fever, the germ of which he 
brought from the vicinity of Wood Creek and the Oneida 
Lake. Alvan Young, Esq., yet residing in the town, well 
remembers attending the funeral, about one mile from his 
father's residence, and on the farm now occupied by Freeman 
Milks, and speaks quite confidently that this was the first 
death in the limits of the town. 

The first marriage was that of Mr. Dan Miller, to Miss 
xVmy Taft, daughter of William Taft. The next was that of 
two daughters of Mr. James Young, to young men in their 



XIII. ] LEE. . 231 

neighborhood. Unfortunately, the author has not obtained 
the dates of these first weddings, but they took place early in 
the settlement of the town. 

The first saw mill erected in Lee, was built either in 1791 
(U- 1792. by David Smith, Esq., on the Mohawk River, on 
the site of the present mills in the village of Delta. The 
second saw mill was erected in 1796, by John Hall and 
Smith Miller, on the Canada Creek, at Lee Centre. There 
are now twenty saw mills in the town, the most of them 
doing good business. 

The first grist mill in Lee, or indeed in this section of tlie 
county, was built by Gen. William Floyd, in 1796. It was 
situate on Canada Creek, one and a half miles south of Lee 
Centre, and near the line between Lee and Rome. It 
accommodated a large section of country, there being at the 
time of its erection no grist mill nearer than at Whitesboro. 
Many of the early grists brought to this mill, came on the 
backs of the owners, horses in those days being a luxury 
beyond the means of most of the settlers. This ancient mill, 
erected by the immortal signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, has long since been in ruins, and its site aban- 
doned. The second grist mill in the town was built in the 
year 1798, by Thomas and William Forfar, emigrants from 
the Highlands of Scotland. It was located on Canada 
Creek, on the site now occupied by the mill at Lee Centre. 
There are now two grist and flouring mills in the town, one 
in Delta and the other at Lee Centre, each doing an exten- 
sive business. 

The first school house was erected in 1796 or 1797, by the 
voluntary contributions of the inhabitants, in money, mate- 
rials, and labor, and was situated one mile south-east from 
Lee Centre. In this pioneer school house, many of the 
early sons and daughters of Lee received their first lessons 



232 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

iu the rudiments of a common seliool education. Some of 
them yet reside in the town, and they say if some luckless 
\yight failed to get a fair portion of ideas by the ordinary 
course of study, as the course of discipline then was, the 
knights who occupied the chair pedagogic would make the 
attempt to quicken the perceptions by a smart application of 
the hand on the ear, and if that failed, an effort was made to 
reach the seat of knowledge through the cuticle of the back. 
by a thorough application of the rod. 

The manufacture of leather was commenced on a small 
scale as early as 1815. There are now four tanneries in the 
town, doing a fair but not extensive business. 

There are three wool-carding and cloth-dressing establish- 
ments, in one of which the manufacture of woolen cloths is 
carried on to a considerable extent. 

There are also in the town an extensive plow manufactory, 
two lathes for the turning of wood, driven by water power, 
and seven dry goods and gi'ocery stores. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The lirst church organization in the town was a Congre- 
gational Churchy constituted as early as 1797, and ten of 
its members, seven males and three females, belonged to the 
limits of the present town of Lee, viz. : — Nathan Barlow, 
Lydia Barlow, John Hall, Dan Miller, James Young, Han- 
nah Young, Ebenezer Seymour and wife, Joseph Simmons, 
and Eliakim Miller. There were a few also who united 
with this body who resided in the present town of Western, 
Joshua Wills and wife, Hezekiah Elmer and wife, and 
perhaps one or two others. The first pastor of this churcli 
wa.s the Rev. James Southworth, then the Rev. Mr. Norton. 



XIII.] LEE. '^oo 

Missionaries for a time — Kev. Mr. Cook, Rev. Mr. Leavens- 
worth, Rev. Jolin Alexander, Rev. Mr. Long, Rev. Mr. Hall, 
Rev. Simeon Snow, Rev. Clement Lewis. The present pas- 
tor (1850) is the Rev. Mr. Edwards. It is now under the 
Presbyterian form of government, and has about thirty 
members. This society used as a house of worship, for 
about twenty years, the school house noticed as the first in 
town. 

The Methodists are the most numerous body of Chris- 
tians in Lee. They have a respectable house for public 
worship in Delta, besides a share in the house belonging to 
the "Union Ecclesiastical Society," at Lee Centre. This 
last-named house was erected in 1819, and was the first 
house for public worship in the town. The Methodists are 
supplied by circuit preachers, the Rev. Messrs. Chidester 
and Richards supplying them in 1850. 

The Friends have quite a numerous society and a house 
for worship located near the West Branch Post Ofiice, in 
this town. 

The Universalists have a society in this town, and have 
for their present pastor the Rev. Mr. J. S. Kibbe, alternately 
holding their meetings with the Methodists in the " Union 
Church." 

The common schools previous to 1849 had been well sus- 
tained, were flourishing, and the cause of education rapidly 
advancing. Few towns could produce an equal amount of 
Ment in useful and active life, which had been developed but 
in the common schools. In 1845 there were seventeen public 
schools in successful operation. The school house at Lee 



234 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Centre is a good two-story wooden building. The cost of 
the several school houses, and the land connected with them 
was $3,768. 

The first settlers in the region of Fish Creek possessed 
one advantage over the early settlers in many other parts of 
the country. The luxury of the " roast beef," pork, and 
mutton, of older settlements, is sparingly enjoyed in new ; 
but in the neighborhood of the creek, the luscious salmon 
almost compensated for the deprivation. From the time the 
salmon made their first appearance in the spring until fall, 
the supply was only limited by the demand, and after the 
wants of" home consumption" had been satisfied, the surplus 
was frequently taken to gratify the voluptuaries at Fort 
b'tanwix, Whitestown, and Old Fort Schuyler. Many of the 
inhabitants thus drew from Fish Creek a considerable part 
of their support. In the fall they w^ere salted down for 
winter's use, and formed a far more palatable substitute for 
'• meat victuals," than did the salted pigeons substituted by 
the pioneers of Whitesboro, 

There are no large villages in this town, but tliere are four 
points where business centres. 

In the west part of the town, on the Ptome and Taberg 
plank road, is a small cluster of houses, mechanics,- etc., and 
there are in the vicinity four saw mills, and other machinery 
on West Creek, a stream that empties into Fish Creek. 
Here is the Lee Post Ofiice, and a tavern. 

Lee Centre, as its name indicates, is centrally located in 
the town. Here are a number of dwellings, the Union 
Church, two stores, a tavern, a grist and saw mill, Leo 
Centre Post Ofiice, a tannery, with various shops for mechan- 
ics. It is a quiet country village, isolated from the bustle 
of canals, rail or plank roads, yet its water power makes it a 
place of some importance and considerable business. It is 



xin.J LEE. 235 

situated on the Canada Creek, a stream sufficient to turn 
quite an amount of machinery, that empties into Wood 
Creek westerly from Rome. 

Nisbet's Corners are about two miles easterly from tlie 
Centre, where the road from that place to Delta crosses the 
Rome and Turin plank road. Here is a store, tavern, and a 
small collection of dwellings and shops, and Stoke's Post 
Office. This place takes its name from Robert Nisbet, a 
gentleman from Adams, Mass.. who settled here about the 
year 1818, and resided here until his death, which occurred 
in March, 1839. He was a prominent and active business 
man. For many years he was confessedly the best farmer 
in the county, and in his farm management probably had 
few superiors in the country. He was also extensively en- 
gaged in the produce business, and did more at an early 
day to introduce and encourage good dairying in this 
part of the State, than any other person. The little village 
which bears his name, was built up under the influence of 
his active and extended business, and for many years pre- 
sented, during the autumn, the stir and activity often not 
witnessed in towns of a much larger population, but lacking 
the energy of a master spirit to guide and direct its opera- 
tions. The influence of Mr. Nisbet's example and advice 
has contributed largely to the agricultural improvement, 
not only of the town where he resided, but of tliis entire 
section of country. This brief tribute to his memory is not 
therefore undeserved. 

Delta is situated in the extreme eastern part of the 
town, a small portion of the village being in Western. It 
lies on the westerly side of the Mohawk River, which 
afi'ords it an abundant water power. Delta has a post 
office of that name, a Methodist Church, a e'rist and flourinf;: 



tioG ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

mill, a saw mill, a large distillery, a plow factory, a wool 
carding, cloth dressing, and woolen manufacturing establish- 
ment, and the various mechanics usually found in a coun- 
try village, with quite a collection of respectable dwelling 
houses. 



XIV.] MARCV. 237 



OHAPTER XIV. 

MAECY. 

tn the year 1740, and in the north of Ireland, were wit* 
nesSed the parting adieus of a young man and his lately 
betrothed wife, to parents, brothers, and sisters, and the dear 
friends of their childhood and youth. The parting over, a 
long, long, lingering look was given to the green valley that 
had ever been their home, and where the shamrock covered 
the happy playgrounds of childhood ; a long farewell was in- 
wardly breathed to Ireland, and the journey to the harbor 
of embarkation was at once commenced. They had heard 
of " swate Americy," the home for the oppressed and poor, 
where labor was abundant, and wages fully compensated for 
its toil, and, above all, where but a small portion of the 
laborer's earnings were swallowed up in rents, tythes, and 
taxes. To this El Dorado of their imaginations were our 
young emigrants about to exile themselves. 

Having crossed the wide Atlantic, the town of Plainfield, 
in the State of Connecticut, was selected for their future 
home. Poor in this world's goods, yet rich in each other's 
love, in stout hearts, strong arms, and persevering industry, 
they could hardly fail to be successful. At the end of 
twenty-five years, we find our emigrants with ample com,- 
petence, almost rich, and with ten healthy children, r^in^, 
sons and a daughter. Another emigration now b^jcame 
necessary, to secure farms and homes for this nujmerous 



238 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

progeny. Vermont was then the "New Country," whose 
woods and cheap lands were inviting the tide of emigration, 
and in 17G5 we find our Irish- Yankee settled in the town 
and County of Windsor, in that territory, then claimed by 
New York and New Hampshire. -A few years found them 
with good farms, cleared of their primeval forests ; then came 
the time that "tried men's souls,'' and eight of the nine sons 
were found with the Green Mountain Boys, battling for 
their country. The ninth and youngest would have joined 
hi.s comrades, but his age did not come up to the continental 
standard. What was seemingly remarkable, they all lived 
to see their country's independence established; although 
some were " during the war's '' men, no bullet had been com- 
missioned to harm them, and being some of the iron men of 
that age, they had withstood the hardships and privations 
which swept so many of the soldiers of independence to un- 
timely graves. 

Vermont not coming fully up to their anticipations, four 
of the sons were among the earliest settlers of the town of 
Marcy. John Wilson, the sixth son, was the first person 
who removed within the present limits of the town. He 
came in the spring of 1793, and brought a large family of 
children, all under eighteen years of age. He settled upon a 
river farm, about half a mile east of the Nine Mile Creek, 
where he built a small log house, and cleared several acres of 
land. In the fall he was taken ill of a bilious fever, and 
died, and several of his elder children continued to reside on 
the farm, while the younger separated, and went to live 
with difi'erent relatives. Early in 1794, James Wilson, the 
seventh son of the Irish emigrant, arrived in the town. A 
Dutchman, named Tull, had preceded him, and built a log 
house eighteen feet square, in which he and his family, in all 
twelve persons, were living. The house stood on the b?"^' 



XIV.] MARCY. 239 

of the Nine Mile Creek, about sixty rods above its junction 
with the Mohawk. Like all new settlers, TuU's latchstriug 
was out, and James Wilson removed in with the already 
crowded household, adding six to their numbers, and there 
remained until spring, when he purchased a "new lot," as 
unimproved lands were then called, about one mile nortli of 
the Oriskany village, upon which he moved. His first 
eiforts in agriculture were unfortunate. He cleared -a few 
acres the first spring, and planted it with corn, adding a 
liberal supply of pumpkin seed to the corn seed. The 
pigeons pulled up every stalk of the corn, leaving the pump- 
kins to luxuriate alone on the virgin soil. Their numbers 
were legions, and their size enormous, but they were his only 
produce the first year, and consequently the hardships of the 
settlers were trying and severe, as the oxen and cows had 
to be fed the first winter from the tops of the elm, basswood, 
and maple. Hardships were, however, borne without com- 
plaint, and at the end of fifteen years from his arrival, he 
was a wealthy farmer. 

In 1794, Isaac and Jacob Wilson, fourth and fifth sons of 
Thomas Wilson, removed into this town, in the neighbor- 
hood of their brother. Of these y^rs^ settlers, not an individual 
now remains in the town, all having died or removed ; the 
last, Thomas, son of James Wilson, who was but a small 
lad when he arrived, having recently removed to the town of 
Yernon. Of the early settlers, among whom were the 
Careys, Camps, and others, several still reside in the town. 

The first settlers were mostly uneducated men, yet with 
their rude manners, kind and neighborly. They were in the 
habit of meeting at some one of their houses, to celebrate 
the advent of the new year. A "rich supper," as they 
termed it, was provided, by each furnishing the articles in 
which he most abounded ; and the result was, that these 



240 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

suppers exhibited a bountiful supply of turkeys, chicken!?, 
pies, cakes, etc. After the supper, the young people spent 
the evening in dancing, while the older ones told their stories 
and cracked their jokes. 

Strong drink was freely used, although by few to intoxi- 
cation ; for this was before the invention of temperance 
societies. Logging and wood hees were also the order of the 
day, to which a whole neighborhood were i&vited, to give one 
of their number a lift in drawing, piling, and burning logs, 
in clearing land, or to cut and draw fire wood. It is very 
questionable whether those who have succeeded them enjoy 
life with as high a relish as they did. They were a plain 
people, manufacturing in their families almost every article 
of their wearing apparel, the fabric of which, though coarse, 
and colored from the bark of the hemlock, soft maple, but- 
ternut, and hazel, was warm and durable. The females, or 
as they might be termed, " nature's ladies," were well fitted, 
by inclination and habit, for pioneers ; and threading the 
paths through their tangled forests on foot, or at best on 
horseback, was to them a pastime. An instance might be 
given of a young married woman, who, wishing to visit her 
father's family, some three miles distant, at the place now 
known as Colman's Mills, in the town of Whitestown, went 
to the pasture, caught a highly spirited four years old horse, 
manufactured a halter from her home-spun, home-woven, 
long and strong unmentionables, and without other head- 
gear for her horse, or even a saddle, performed the journey, 
having to ford or swim the Mohawk at the " Oxbow," on her 
outward and homeward passage. She had a pleasant visit, 
and her, it must be confessed, perilous ride, was performed 
without accident. 

This town, in common with the early settlements of the 
county, suffered much from the depredations of bears, wolves, 



XIV.] MAUCY. 241 

and foxes, and some of the early settlers soon learned to 
be quite skilful in making the bears rue their depredations 
in the corn fields. Probably a Mr. Hall had acquired the 
'•art and mystery" beyond any of his cotemporaries, for at 
one time he had sixteen of their pelts stretched on the sides 
of a barn to dry. 

The early settlers in general enjoyed good health, and but 
occasionally a case of bilious or intermittent fever occurred 
in the valley of the Mohawk, or on the margin of a mill- 
pond. Consumption was hardly known, but of late years 
almost one half the deaths in the town are from this dis- 
ease. The principal causes for this change would doubtless 
be found in the different modes of living, and the warm 
houses, heated in winter almost to suffocation by stoves, and 
then the sudden transition into the cold north-westers of our 
•climate. 

A portion of the first settlers were not very strict in tlieir 
observance of the Lot d's-day, and a number of them used to 
congregate on this day upon the Mohawk Flat, near the 
Oxbow, to talk over the news of the day, etc. Two lads, of 
about fourteen years, took a rather novel way to cure th<3 
evil. Near the place of rendezvous stood a tall pine tree, 
the top of which grew so thick as to be quite impenetrable 
to the eye, and one Sunday morning, previous to the time 
t)f gathering, the boys, with testament in hand, and taking 
advantage of a thickly-limbed cedar which shot up beside 
the trunk of the pine, reached the thick top of the latter, 
and snugly ensconsed themselves within it. At the usual 
time the loiterers convened, and soon one of the boys, in a 
loud but sepulchral tone, commenced reading from the 
sacred volume texts against the desecration of the day. 
Occasionally the reader would interlard the selected scrip- 
lurea with an admonition to desist from the bad example 

16 



■-21:-i ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV [cHAP. 

tliey were setting their children. The liearers strained their 
optics to see from whence came the warnings, but no dis- 
covery was made. They, however, very soon left, and the 
fure was most perfect. For more than thirty years the 
principal actors in this scene kept the secret locked in their 
own breasts, but after their whole congregation were either 
dead or removed from the town, one of them divulged the 
whole matter. 



GrEOLOGY. — There is nothing dissimil&r in. the geological 
formation of this town, from that of many of the towns in 
the county. Commencing on the southerly &ide of the town, 
which is bounded on the Mohawk River, we find the alluvial 
flats common to the stream, and the alluvial deposits are in 
many parts of great depth. In digging a well on that flat, 
a frog in a torpid state was found, encased in clay and 
gravel, twenty feet below the surface. After being exposed 
to the air a short time, animation returned, but it survived 
but a few hours. The flats in this town are of varioui; 
widths, but in general the whole width is about one mile, 
and as the river meanders from side to side, it leaves at some 
places the larger portion in this town, and at others a large 
portion in the adjoining town of Whitestown, while at others 
the river is nearly central. When not too wet, they are 
very productive. Rising from tlie flats, there is a strip of 
table land, averaging about one hundred rods in width, and 
which is much higher in the north-western than in the south- 
eastern parts of the town. Opposite the Oriskany village, 
the hill is very considerable, while against Whitesboro it has 
but a slight elevation above the alluvial flats. In the lower 
part of the town, the soil of this table is almost entirely 
sand, warm and quick, and, with high manuring, very pro- 



XIV. J MAKCY. 243 

ductive. In passing up the Mohawk to a point opposite the 
upper part of Whitesboro, there is found a small rivulet 
which rises on the hills at the north, and empties into the 
river, passing between the residences of Milton and Horace 
Dyer, and this stream is the boundary between the sandy 
and gravelly portions of the table land ; above it is entirely 
gravel. The cobble stone and gravel of this section have 
the appearance of once having been washed, and occasionally 
clumps of petrified shells are found, a strong indication that 
this table was at some period covered with water. If, as 
many suppose, — and there are certainly very strong reasons 
for the opinion, — Fall Hill at the Little Falls was the east- 
ern terminus of a lake which once occupied the Mohawk 
valley above, then the depth of water would have been suf- 
ficient to have covered this table land. It is very productive, 
the earth thrown from wells fifteen or twenty feet in depth, 
possesses all the fertility of tlmt on the surface. 

Leaving the table land, and fiu'ther back from the Mo- 
hawk, the land rises into hills of primary formation ; these 
are not quite as productive as the alluvial and table lands, 
yet there is much good second quality land. Most of it is 
underlaid with slate from two to twenty feet below the sur- 
face. The slate has a slight dip to the south, and this will 
be found true of all the rock and mineral formations in the 
county. Much time and money have been expended in this 
town in boring for coal, and in one instance a few individuals 
penetrated 100 feet, near the Nine Mile Creek, without find- 
ing coal, and for the very best of reasons, — there is none. 
If the geology of the county had formerly been as well 
understood as at present, much labor and money might have 
been saved for more useful purposes. 

AoRicuLTUFvE. — The agriculture of this town is improving 



244 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAP, 

Wheat has been almost driven from its limits by the wheat 
worm, but within the last two years a few good crops have 
been raised, and strong hopes are entertained that, when the 
worm has passed by, wheat growing — to an extent equal to 
home consumption — may be resumed. All other crops 
common to the county are successfully cultivated ; much, 
however, of this success is found with those farmers who 
pay the greatest attention to the superior methods of man- 
uring and cultivating their land. Within a few years there 
has been a decided improvement witnessed in the agriculture 
of Marcy. 

Schools. — -There are no Seminaries or High Schools in 
the town. The common schools are represented to be quite 
flourishing. 

Indians.' — There were no Indians residing in this town 
when the county was settled. A correspondent informs the 
author that there was a place about half a mile east of the 
Oriskany, upon a beautiful piece of table land, on the north 
bank of the Mohawk, which was known to the first settlers 
by the name of the "Indian Castle." As early as 1796 it 
was mostly covered with second-growth timber, five or six 
inches in diameter ; and a small mound, about eighteen 
inches high, and from eight to ten feet across the top, is still 
seen upon its site. Near the place of this Indian settle- 
ment are from twenty to thirty " hopper holes," as they were 
termed by the first settlers, and, according to tradition, they 
were used to secrete their corn on the approach of an enemy. 
Each hole would contain about ten bushels, and the bottom 
^nd sides were carefully lined with dry brakes and grass. 
Several of these were found upon the farm first purchased 
hy James Wilson. Iron hatchets, of a very peculiar shape, 



XIV. J MARCY. 245 

have been ploughed up on the same farm, supposed to be of 
Spanish manufacture. The author's correspondent is of the 
opinion that this place and the Oriskany village were, an- 
terior to the lievolution, occupied by a branch of the Mohawk 
tribe, and that the Oneidas took possession after they had 
left. This may be correct ; still the author had never pre- 
viously heard of the Mohawks having any villages as high 
up the river. 

By the last census the town contained 1,769 inhabitants. 
It then contained no grist mill, seven saw mills, one trip 
hammer, using $400 in raw materials, producing $ 1.500 in 
manufactured articles, two tanneries, using $7,700 in raw 
materials, and producing $ 10,600 in manufactui-ed articles. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 



There are two Baptist Churches in the town, the cost of 
which was $ 1,050 ; one Congregational Church, co^i $200; 
^ndi OUQ Methodist CAwrcA, cost $ 1,320. Of these churches 
no statistics have been obtained, with the exception of the 
Berean Baptist Church, and of this they are quite meagre. 
The Berean Church was formed early in the year 1844. 
under the pastoral care of Elder Wm. H. Thomas, and 
reported that year sixty added by baptism, thirty by expe- 
rience and letter, and seventeen dismissed, excluded, and 
deceased, leaving a total of seventy-three. In 1845, 110 
members were reported. In 1846 and 1847, Elder Myron 
H. Negus was pastoi-, and seventy members reported the 
former, and sixty the latter year. In 1849, Mr. Alfred 
Harris, a licentiate, supplied the pulpit, and but forty-seven 
members were reported. The first pastor became a " cast- 
away^'' and fled to a distant part of the country, where lie 



246 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

died in povcrtj^ and disgrace. How mucli of the declousion 
of this church is chargable to his /«//, will uever be known 
in time. 

By a law passed March 30, 1832, the town of Marcy wa.'? 
formed from the town of Deerfield, and was named in honor 
of William L. Marcy. then Grovernor of the State, and Secre- 
tary at War during the administration of President Polk. 
A few months after the formation of the town, Gov. Marcy 
visited it, and was the guest of C. Baldwin, Esq., who was 
t^he first and then Supervisor of the town. 



Xy] MARSHALL. 247 



CHAPTER XV. 

MARSHALL. 

If the author had commenced a few years earlier, he 
would here have opened a rich mine of historical incidents. 
In this town was located the tribe known as the Brothertowii 
Indians. It was composed of the remnants of the various 
tribes of New England and Long Island. They had melted 
away in their murderous wars with the pale-skins, and by 
adopting their vices, until, when they here sought a refuge, 
these remnants were small indeed. After they had congre- 
gated at this place, they nnimbered but about 400. What a 
fearful accounting will have to be rendered by our New 
England forefathers for the mighty balance of the once 
powerful Naragansets, Mohegans, Pequods. Montauks, Na- 
ticks, and numerous smaller tribes, who welcomed them to 
their shores, fed them from their own scanty supplies, and 
not as the ancient Israelites, when by persecutions and 
exactions driven from the land of Egypt, with increased 
numbers, but by " war, pestilence, and famine," forced them 
to emigrate, with this little pittance of numbers, to Brother- 
town, given them by the ever hospitable and generous 
Oneidas. 

The territory presented to the Brotherton Indians was 
much more extensive than was ever used or occupied by 
them, and they very early sold quite a section of it to the 
State. The part which tliey reserved to themselves lay on 



248 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

each side and contiguous to the Oriskany Creek. A portion 
of this reservation was within the present town of Kirkland, 
but their main settlements were in Marshall, in the vicinity 
of Deansville and Dickville. By the death of the late Thomas 
Dean, Esq., who for many years resided within the limits of 
the Indian settlement, the author has lost the most reliable 
and valuable source for information respecting these Indians. 
Asa Dick, Esq., died a few years since, and a brother of his 
emigrated but about two years since, who were very intelli- 
gent men of the Naraganset stock. Since the death of Squire 
Dick, and the removal of his brother, not one of the tribe has 
been left to tell the story of their emigration to this place, 
their sufferings, privations, and wrongs, and meagre indeed 
is the little that can be gleaned of their history. 

A portion of them settled at this place prior to the Revo- 
lutionary War, but the year has not been ascertained. 
Prominent among those who settled thus early, were the 
names of David Fowler, Elijah Wampy, and John Tuhi^ 
(grandfather to the one of the same name who was executed 
in 1816.) A large proportion, however, of those who settled 
before the war, left their settlement soon after its commence- 
ment, fearing the ravages of the Senecas, . Cayugas, and 
Onondagas, who had espoused the cause of the king, while 
they in feeling were with the colonists, although professing 
neutrality. x\. few — probably not more than two or three — 
of the men staid, spending a portion of their time at this 
place, for the purpose of seeing to and cultivating their land 
to some little extent, while the remainder of their time was 
spent at Fort Stanwix. Wampy, who has been before no- 
ticed, was of this number. On one occasion, as he was going 
from the Fort to Brothertown, and had proceeded some two 
or three miles on his way, a hostile Indian sprang from 
behind a tree, close to his path, and was about to shoot him 



XV.J MARSHALL. 249 

down with his rifle, when Wampy flew at him, knocked up 
the muzzle of the gun, so that the ball passed harmlessly 
over him, and with his knife laid his brother red-skin dead 
at his feet. The victor, believing that other foes would soon 
be attracted by the report of the rifle, caught the weapon 
from its now passive owner, and, bearing the trophy of his 
prowess, in double quick time, retraced his way to the Fort. 

When the great body of them left during the war, potatoes 
had been planted, and were left growing in the fields, and 
when they returned at its close, after an absence of some 
five or six years, they found that the tubers had continued 
to yield their annual crops, in diminished quantities to be 
sure, yet a sufficiency at least for planting. 

After their return, many of them became quite skilful 
agriculturists, had large and productive fields in the Oris- 
kany valley, and quite a proportion of them managed to live 
very comfortably. Eut the "pale-faces" were on their trail, 
and soon had surrounded their settlement ; with one hand 
presenting them with the Bible, — the Word of Life, — and 
with the other, that "fire-water," their greatest, direst curse, 
and which was well known to be death, physical and moral, 
to the savage. After the fathers who emigrated had mostly 
" fallen asleep," the tribe went to decay. Intemperance, 
with its accompaniment, licentiousness, fast did their work, 
and the descendants of king Philip, Sassacus, and a host of 
sachems renowned in the New England wars, debased in 
body and soul, but greeted the eye of the spectator of their 
wrongs. On their petition, a little more than twenty years 
since, the Legislature passed a law permitting them to sell 
their farms to individuals, with the advice and consent of the 
Superintendents of the Brothertown Indians; and, in 1831, 
a portion of them, having sold out, emigrated to Green Bay, 
where they commenced a settlement, separate from the 



2"50 ANNALS OF ON13IDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Oneida and Stockbridge Indians, who removed to the Bay 
at about the same time. They continued to sell and emi- 
grate until two years since, when the '• last of the Brother- 
tons," like the " last of the Mohegans," had a second time 
abandoned to the pale faces, the burial-place of their fathers. 
The first settlement by the whites of the territory at this 
time included within the limits of Marshall, was on that part 
©f the Brothertown tract sold to the state. It is believed 
that David Barton was the first settler : he removed to this 
place from Connecticut in 1793. lie was, however, very soon 
followed by Warren Williams, who took up tlir* farm now 
owned by Horace H. Eastman, Esq. Williams soon sold 
out to Elder Hezekiah Eastman, for Elder Eastman received 
his deed from the State, dated in 1795, acknowledged before 
Judge Hugh White, and recorded by Jonas Piatt, then clerk 
of Herkimer County. Beside those named, Capt. Simon 
Hubbard and Levi Barker were very early settlers in the 
town. Col. Lester Barker, ex-sheriff of Oneida County, was 
the first white child born on the Brothertown tract. 

Geology. — The geology of Marshall nearly resembles the 
S'Outh-western part of the county. There are extensiv<5 
quarries of limestone on the higher lands in the town. The 
best for building purposes, and hardly surpassed in the 
county, is that on the farm of H. II. Eastman, Esq. There 
are but very few bowlders and little of the land can be termed 
stony. The soil is very productive. Few towns in the 
county equal; and none excel it, in the average quality of the 
land. The valky of the Oriskany here ranks with its best 
portions, while ranch of the hill land, almost, and in some 
instances quite, rivals it in fertility. On the plank road from 
Waterville to Paris Hill, a part of the distance of which 
passes through the south-easterly part of Marshall, tlie farm- 



XV.] "MARSHALL. 251 

ers have displayed mucli taste in ornamenting the road with 
vows of maples and other forest trees. Esq. Eastman has on 
his farm, at least a mile in length, twelve feet apart. In 
summer these shade trees present a very fine and picturesque 
appearance. The town is well watered. The west branch 
of the Oriskany Creek enters it but a short distance below 
Oriskany Falls, while the east branch enters it in the lower 
part of Waterville. After each running about four miles, 
they get into the same valley opposite Dickville, and their 
proximity is but quite trifling on the plank road south, from 
Deansville to Waterville, forming a junction a little below 
Deansville, and just before it enters the town of Kirkland. 
Beside there are numerous rills that rise in the hills on either 
side of the branches, enterinjic them as tributaries. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 



The Congregational Church in Marshall was organized 
June 14, 1797; this was the first church formed within the 
limits of the town. At the time of its formation, it was in 
the "old town of Paris," and early it received the distinctive 
name of " Hanover Society." The church was constituted 
with fourteen members, seven males and seven females, since 
which there have been added by profession 234, and by letter 
8G, making in all 334. Mrs. David Barton (the first settler) 
joined this church in the September after it was formed, 
and Mr. Barton in 1804, and are both yet members. Mrs. 
Eunice Griffin joined in 1803, and is still a member. 

In 1801, the Haiwver Church and Society erected their 
first house for public worship, and after having used it as 
such forty years, it was rebuilt in 1841. The church has. 



252 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Iiad four pastors. The Rev. John Eastman was ordained 
about 1809, preached to this people about thirteen years 
and was dismissed January 8, 1822. Rev. Ralph Robinson 
shortly after commenced his labors with this Society, was 
installed pastor May 9, 1827. Rev. Richard M. Davis was 
installed pastor July 2, 1833, and was dismissed in May. 
1835. Rev. Pindar Field commenced his labors with this 
body in October, 1846, and was installed pastor February 
23, 1848 ; he is the present pastor. Previous to the ordina- 
tion of Mr. Eastman, a Mr. Thompson, of Sangerfield, a Mr. 
Rell, Rev. Publius V. Rogue, and Rev. Lothrop Thompson, 
preached for different lengths of time. After the dismissal 
of Mr. Robinson, and previous to the installation of Mr. 
Davis, Rev. Mr. Rogue again, and Mr. Ingersoll about two 
years, and after the dismissal of Mr. Davis, and before the 
installation of Mr. Field, Rev. Rufus Pratt about eighteen 
months, Rev. David J. Weeks two years. Rev. E. Parmely 
eighteen months, Rev. Mr. Grosvenor, Rev. Seth P. M. 
Hastings, and Rev. S. W. Raymond, through the summer of 
1842, then S. W. Raymond for three and a half years sup- 
plied this people with preaching, with occasional supplies 
from President North and Rev. Salmon Strong. The pre- 
sent number of members belonging to the church is fifty-five, 
twelve males and forty-three females. 

The Bajytist CImrch of Paris, afterwards known as the 
First Boptist Church in Paris, was organized within the 
present limits of Marshall, July 6, 1797. It will be per- 
ceived that it was but twenty-two days the junior of the 
(congregational Church just noticed. It was constituted and 
fellovvshipped by a council from the Raptist Churches in 
Whitestown, Litchfield, Fairfield and Palatine, Peterboro, 
and 2d Burlington. Composing in part the delegation frou 



\V.] MARSHALL. 253 

these churches, we notice the names of vStepheii Parson«, 
Joel Butler, Peter P. Roots, and AshW Hosmer, those 
veteran pioneers of the denomination in Oentral New York. 
The church when formed consisted of twenty-seven members,, 
fifteen males and twelve females, probably a larger numbci* 
than were organized into a church, thus early, in the county ._ 
The council convened at the house of David Wood, and this 
house was their place of meeting for public worship for a 
number of years. The church received accessions from time 
to time, until about one hundred and sixty persons had been 
members. Elder Hezekiah Eastman commenced preaching 
to this people as early as 1796, probably earlier. After the 
church was constituted, he became its pastor, and continued! 
his labors with it until 1809, when he asked and received a- 
dismission to the Sangerfield Church. Soon after this he- 
went on a missionary tour into the western part of the State^. 
as is shown by the following extract from his journal: — 
" September 22, 1809, I set out on a missionary tour to the 
Holland Purchase." 

After the dismissal of Elder Eastman, John Beebe, a 
member of the church, commenced preaching to the people, 
and on the 26th of October, 1811, the church called him to 
ordination. A council was called, and met on the ISfeh of 
November following, and after an examination and approval 
of the candidate, proceeded next day to his ordination. Eld. 
Beebe continued as pastor for a number of years, but his 
health failing in 1823, Eld. John Gr. Stearns was called, and 
assumed the pastoral duties. Eld. Stearns continued with 
the church about five years. The records of this body close' 
January 16th, 1832. At this time it seems to have lost its 
visibility. The anti-masonic excitement had much to do 
with its dissolution. A part of its members united: with the 
«hurch in Clinten, which had then been but recently formed. 



254 ANNALS OF ONEIBA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

Methodist Episcopal. — This denomination had a class in 
this town as early as 1803, which- was supplied with preach- 
ing once in two weeks by the preachers appointed to the 
Westmoreland Circuit. In 1828, a society was organized 
preparatory to building a house for public worship, ])\xi 
nothing was accomplished, in consequence of a disagreement 
as to its site. Nothing further was done as to building a 
house until 1837, when an effort was made to raise funds for 
the building of one at Deansville, which was so far successful 
that a respectable house for public worship was erected at 
that place in 1832, the site of which was presented to the 
society by the late Thomas Dean, Esq. In 1839, Deansville 
was set off as a station, and has so remained to the present 
time. The church now numbers- about ninety members. 

The TJniversalists have a small society, and a house for 
worship in the locality known as " Forge Hollow." It has 
preaching one-half the time. 

lu this town was enacted one of those daring feats and 
escapes, of which the Revolutionary contest was so fruitful 
The story of Heinrich Staring's escape from the Indians at 
Brothertown, has been often told, varying in minutiae, but 
agreeing in all the important particulars. 

Mr. Tracy's relation of it in his lectures, is probably thf» 
most correct account now within the reach of the author, 
and has therefore been followed, with but slight alterations 
in this work. 

As this individual, when Herkimer County was first or- 
ganized, and when it comprehended within its limits tlie 
present county of Oneida, received, and for many years held 
the office of first judge, and also his birthplace so near the 
present eastern line of the county, it seems to warrant in this- 



XV.] * MARSHALL. 255 

place, a somewhat extended notice of him. Ileinrieh Staring 
was a native of the Mohawk Valley,, and was born about 
eleven miles below the city of Utiea, and soon after the set- 
tlement of the German Flats. Little is known of his early 
history. 

'■ At the commencement of the Ptevolutionary "War. we 
find him a militia officer, and regarded by the royal party as 
a most important and influential personage in his neighbor- 
hood. He was present at the battle of Oriskany, and from 
that period held the office of colonel of the Try on county 
militia during the remainder of the war. Possessing great 
shrewdness, strong common sense, and unflinching intrepidity, 
he enjoyed the unlimited confidence of the German and Dutch 
settlers on the Mohawk, and became a prominent object for 
seizure by the enemy. A great number of anecdotes illus- 
trative of the extraordinary means that were used by the 
enemy he had to deal with to procure his person or destroy 
him, might be related. The story was from the lips of the 
old man several years after the war. The event took place 
some time late in November, and about the year 1778 or 
1779. He had, for some purpose, gone into the woods at 
some distance from his home, and while there, by chance, 
came suddenly upon a party of hostile Indians, who, during 
those years, were frequently prowling about the settlements 
on the Mohawk, and occasionally making murderous incur- 
sions among the inhabitants. Before he became fully aware 
of their presence he had got so completely in their power that 
flight or resistance were out of the question. He Was seized 
with every demonstration of hellish delight, and rapidly hur- 
ried away in a contrary direction from- his home and south- 
ward of the Mohawk, until his captors supposed themselves 
out of the reach of pursuit, when they directed their march 
westward, and at night reached a small uninhabited wigwaro 



256 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

at a little more than a quarter of a mile from the right bank 
of the Oriskany Cre.ek, above Clinton, in what is now called 
Brothertown. The wigwam consisted of two rooms, separated 
from each other by a partition of logs. Into the larger of 
these there opened an outside door which furnished the only 
entrance to the house. Another door communicated from 
the larger to the smaller room. The latter had one window, 
a small square hole of less than a foot high by about two feet 
wide, placed nearly six feet above the floor. The whole 
structure was of logs, substantially built. The Indians ex- 
amined the smaller room, and concluded that by securely 
fastening their prisoner hand and foot, they could safely 
keep him there until morning. They, therefore, bound his 
hands behind him with withes, and then fastened his ancles 
together in the same manner, and laid him thus boimd in 
the small room, while they built a fire in the larger one, and 
«oramenced a consultation concerning the disposition of him. 
■Staring, though unable to speak the Indian language, was 
sufficiently acquainted with it to understand their delibera- 
tions, and he lay listening intently to their conversation. 
The whole party were unanimous in the decision that he 
must be put to death, but the manner of doiHg this in the 
way best calculated to make the white warrior cry like a 
cowardly squaw, was a question of high importance, and one 
which it required a good deal of deliberation to settle satis- 
factorily to all his captors. At length, however, it was 
agreed that he should be burned alive on the following morn- 
ing, and preparations were accordingly made for the diabol- 
ical sports of a savage mito da fe. During the deliberation, 
the horrible fate that awaited him suggested to Colonel 
Staring the question of the possibility of an escape. As he 
lay on the ground in the wigwam, he could see the window I 
have spoken of, and he determined to make an eflfort to 



XV.] MARSHALL. 257 

release himself from the withes which bound him, and en- 
deavor to effect a passage through it without alarming his 
savage keepers. Before they had sunk to rest, he had so 
far succeeded as to release one of his hands from its fasten- 
ings, sufficiently to enable him to slip his wrist from it. On 
finding that he could do this, he feigned sleep, and when the 
Indians came in to examine and see if all was safe, they re- 
tired, exulting with a fiend-like sneer, that their victim was 
sleeping his last sleep. They then all laid down on the 
ground in the larger room, to go to sleep. Staring waited 
until all had for a long time become quiet, when, slipping 
his hand from the withes, he was enabled silently to release 
his ancles, and by climbing up the side of the house by the 
aid of the logs, to escape from the window without creating 
an alarm. In the attempt, and while releasing his ancles 
from the withes, he had necessarily taken off his shoes, and 
had forgotten to secure them with him. He was now outside 
of the wigwam, barefoot, at a distance of five and twenty 
miles from his home, without a guide or a path, hungry, and 
in a frosty night in November, and with a band of enemies 
seeking his heart's blood, lying ready to spring upon him. 
But he was once more free from their clench, and this one 
thought was nerve, and strength, and food, — was all he 
needed to call into action his every power. He stole Avitli 
cautious silence from the wigwam, directing his course 
towards the creek, and increasing his gait as he left his cap- 
tors, and got beyond the danger of alarming them. He had 
got about half way to the creek, and had begun to flatter 
himself that his whole escape was accomplished, when ho 
heard a shout from the wigwam, and immediately the bark 
of the Indian dogs in pursuit. He then plunged on at tlie 
top of his speed, and knowing that, while on the land, the 
dogs would follow on his track, in order to baffle their pur- 

17 



258 ANNALS OF ONEIDA OOUNTV. [CHAP. 

suit, as soon as lie reached the creek, he jumped in, and ran 
down stream in the channel. For some time he heard the 
shouts of his late masters, and the baying of their hounds in 
the pursuit ; and now that he had reached the water, where 
their dogs could not track him, he laughed out-right as he 
ran, in thinking of the disappointment they would feel when 
they arrived at the bank. The fear of the faggot, and all 
its accompanying tortures, furnished a stimulus to every 
muscle, and he urged on his flight until he heard no more of 
his enemies, and became satisfied that they had given up their 
pursuit. He deemed it prudent, however, to continue his 
course in the bed of the creek, until he should reach a path 
which led from Oneida to Old Fort Schuyler, — a mud fort, 
built on the present site of Utica during the French war, 
and which was situated between Main street and the banks 
of the River, a little eastward of Second street. The path 
crossed the Oriskany about half a mile westward of where 
the village of Clinton now stands. He then took this path 
and pursued his course. I have mentioned that, in his haste 
to escape, he forgot his shoes. He had on a pair of wool 
stockings, but in running on the gravel in the creek, they 
soon became worn out, and the sharp pebbles cut his feet. 
In this difficulty, he bethought him of a substitute for shoes, 
in the coat he wore, which, fortunately, was made of a thick 
heavy serge. He cut oft' the sleeves of this at his elbows, 
and drew them upon his feet, and thus protected them from 
injury. But he used to say he soon found this was robbing 
Peter to pay Paul, for in the severity of the night, his arms 
became chilled, and almost frozen. He reached the landing 
at Fort Schuyler just in the gray dawn of the morning, and 
cautiously reconnoitering, in osder to ascertain whether any 
one was in the fort, which was frequently used as a camp 
a;round, he satisfied himself that no one was in the neighbor- 



XV.] MARSHALL. 259 

hood. In doing this, he fortunately discovered a canoe 
which had floated down the stream, and lodged in the wil- 
lows which grew on the edge of the bank. He instantly took 
possession of it, and by a vigorous use of the paddles, with 
the aid of the current, succeeded in reaching his home with 
his little bark in the middle of the forenoon."' 

"As has been noticed, in organizing the Court of Common 
Pleas for Herkimer County, Colonel Staring was appointed 
its first Judge. It is not to be supposed, or pretended, that 
any peculiar qualifications or fitness for the office recom- 
mended him for the appointment. His honest and strong, 
but uncultivated mind, had never been schooled to threading- 
the mazes of legal science ; and indeed, he had enjoyed few 
oven of the most common advantages of education. But he 
possessed the confidence of his fellow-citizens for his sterling- 
integrity, strong common sense, and tried and approved 
patriotism ; qualifications which wex-e regarded by the vene- 
rable George Clinton, then Grovernor of the State, as sufficient 
to warrant his appointment to the office. Indeed, at that 
period in the history of the State, few Courts of Common 
Pleas could be found with a lawyer on its list of judges ; 
and it is no disparagement to these courts at that time, to 
assert, that the court in which Judge Staring presided was 
in no respect inferior to its sister tribunals. Many anec- 
dotes illustrative of his simplicity of character, and lack of 
education, are related," 

In the early settlement of the county, the story of Judge 
Staring's " Yankee Pass" was as familiar with the people as 
"household words." 

]By virtue of his office, which carried with it the powers of 
a magistrate, it became his duty to see that the laws were 
properly enforced and obeyed. Then, as now, our statutes 
forbid " all unnecessary labor and travellijig on the first day 



260 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

of the week, commonly called Sunday." Soon after his 
appointment as first dignitary of the bench, a shrewd Yan- 
kee, who had been visiting that unlocated and fast-receding 
region, the "far west," that then hardly extended as far 
towards the setting sun as Onondaga Hollow and Salt Point, 
was passing, on horseback, the residence of the Judge, on his 
his way "down east," on the first day of the week. Judge 
Staring, who, like many of the good Dutch settlers in the 
Mohawk Valley, was quite strict in his observance of the 
day, at once went to the highway, and arrested the law- 
breaking traveller. At first the traveller stoutly demurred, 
stating that his business was urgent, and required haste. 
The Judge was, however, immovable, and the traveller, mak- 
ing a virtue of necessity, soon proposed to pay his fine of six 
•• York shillings." This was accepted by the law enforcer, 
"Now," says the traveller, "I suppose I can proceed?" to 
which he received an affirmative answer. The traveller then 
said to the Judge, that as he had satisfied the broken law, 
by paying his fine, he wished a pass, that he might not be 
again molested in his journey. The judge declared his 
willingness to give the desired paper, but stated his inability 
to write it, and further, if the traveller would do it, he would 
affix his signature. To this the Yankee assented, and pro- 
ceeded to pen the wished-for document, to which the Judge 
signed his name, and forthwith the traveller proceeded on 
his way. A few months afterwards, Judge Staring went to 
Kane's store, at Canajoharie, and was there j)resented for 
payment with an order for twenty-five dollars. At first he 
strenuously denied having given such an order, but having 
more particularly examined the signature, and finding it 
genuine, he revolved the matter over in his mind, and at 
last caught an inkling of the puss at the bottom of the 
meal-tub. He asked for a description of the person who 



XV.] MARSHALL. 261 

presented tlie order, when the Yankee and his beast were, 
most accurately described. " Oh ! now I know it all," says 
the Judge, " it is nothing but that ' Yankee. Passy As the 
signature was genuine, and as no proof could be made of the 
fraud, the draft had to be duly honored ; but for the remain- 
der of his official term it is presumed the Judge never gave 
another " Yankee FassP 

The following is related by Mr. Tracy: — "One day, an 
unfortunate debtor applied -to the Judge to obtain the relief 
afforded by the statute, and having prepared and duly exe- 
cuted his assignment, waited the signature of the Judge to 
perfect his discharge. 'Well,' said he, 'have you got all 
things ready?' 'Yes,' replied the debtor, 'every thing is 
prepared ; all you have to do is to sign my discharge.' 
'Yery well,' said the Judge, 'have you paid all your debts?' 
' Oh ! no,' said the debtor, ' if I liad I should not apply for 
the benefit of the statute.' 'But,' replied the Judge, 'I can't 
sign the paper till you have paid all your debts : you must 
pay your debts first.' Upon this point he was inexorable, 
and the applicant was forced to seek elsewhere the relief 
desired." 



A^iLLAGES. — Deunsville is the most important point in the 
town of Marshall. It is located on the Chenango Canal, 
in the north-easterly part of the town. The plank roads 
leading from AVaterville and from Madison, to Utica, unite 
here. This place has the Methodist Church, Deansville 
Post Office, two store houses, two mercantile houses, two 
taverns, a grocery and provision store, with a number of 
mechanic shops, etc., and but a few rods easterly is the grist 
mill erected by Asa Dick, Esq., on the west branch of the 
Oriskany Creek. Here was the mansion of the late Thomas 



262 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

Dean, Esq., so long and favorably known as the agent of the 
Brothertown Indians. 



Dichville. — Since the construction of the Chenango Canal, 
and the building up of Deansville, this place has nearly lost 
the characteristics of a village. It received its name from 
Asa Dick, Esq., before-mentioned, who lived and died here. 
He was a man, of enterprise, lived in good style, had a good 
two story dwelling, painted white ; but in the latter part of 
his life, he extended his business beyond his means, and after 
his death his estate was found to be insolvent. Formerly 
the place had its merchant and mechanics, but is at this time 
little more than a neighborhood of farmers, located on very 
choice land, with its two saw mills on the east branch of tlie^ 
Oriskany. 

Forge Hollow. — As its name indicates, its inhabitants arc 
enfjaced in the manufacture of iron. The first forire was 
erected here in 1801, by Daniel Hauchet, John Winslow, 
Thomas Winslow, and Ward White. It manufactured iron 
from ore. It has now three smaller establishments of the 
kind, which work only scrap iron. Billy Titus has for quite 
a number of years been engaged in furnace castings, formerly 
quite extensively, but at this time the infirmities of age have 
compelled him to materially abridge his business. The place 
has the Universalist Church, a merchant, and a number of 
mechanics. It is located on the east branch of the Oriskany, 
the hills on each side of its narrow valley rising abruptly, 
and to a considerable height. The Waterville plank road 
passes through Dickville and Forge Hollow. A man by the 
name of Putnam was probably the earliest settler in this 
place ; Elder Tremain and Timothy Burr were also among 
tlie early settlers. 



XV.] MARSHALL. 263 

MarshaU {formerly called Hanover). — This place is located 
on the plank road leading from Waterville to Paris Hill, 
New Hartford, and Utica. It has the Congregational Church, 
the Marshall Post Office, a store, public house, various me- 
chanics' shops, and a small collection of dwelling houses. 
The farms in this vicinity are of the first quality, there being 
no better upland in the county. 

A protracted eifort has been made to procure from his 
family the facts, dates, and incidents, for a biography of the 
late Thomas Dean, Esq., but without success. 



ADDENDA. 

After the copy of the foregoing notices of Marshall was in 
the hands of the printer, and a part of it in type, the author 
accidentally discovered, at the house of George W. Bass, iu 
that town, the -Book of Brothertown Records," from 1790 
to 1843. In penmanship, and in neat, orderly arrangement, 
it excels many of the books of town records in the county. 
On the first page each Town Clerk has entered his name 
in the order in which they were elected. To revive the 
recollection of the names of some of the more prominent 
members of this amalgamated tribe of Indians, the list is 
inscribed : — ^ 

Elijah Wampy, David Fowler, jun., William Coyhis, 
Christopher Scheesuek, Thomas Crosley, Jacob Dick, Wm. 
Dick, jun., James Fowler, jun., Daniel Dick, David Toucee, 
E,. Fowler, James Kiness, Simon Hart, James Wiggins, 
Alexander Fowler. 

These were all the clerks from 1795 to 1843, several of 
them holding the office for a number of years. 



264 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAP. 

James Kiness, who served longer than any other individ- 
ual, wrote a most beautiful engrossing hand, which few clerks 
of the present day can equal, and which still fewer can excel. 
His orthography is very correct, indeed the whole book iii 
this respect fully comes up to the generality of town records. 
There is a paper copied into said book, dated September 26th, 
1795. signed by Samuel Jones, Ezra L'Hommedieu and Zina 
Hitchcock, "Commissioners appointed by an Act of the Leg- 
islature of the State of New York, 'An act relative to lands 
in Brothertown,' have appropriated to the following Indians, 
the following lots of land, as the same have been laid out and 
delineated upon the map of the land, set off' by the said Com- 
missioners, for the use of the Indians." 

Then follow the names of forty-five pefsons, several of 
whom were widows, and the number of the lot or lots assign- 
ed to each. In this list is found the name of George Peters, 
who was afterwards executed for the murder of his wife- 
Eunice. To him and his family was assigned two lots, which 
lay a little east of McMilleu's. The wife that he murdered 
was a daughter of the celebrated "Wampy before noticed. 

June 13th, 1796^ William Floyd for himself and in behalf 
of the other Superintendents, set lots to eight families. 

July 3, 1797, Thomas Eddy, Superintendent, assigned 
lands to eight families ; by the proceedings it appears that a 
part of the lots assigned to these families, had been previous- 
ly assigned to others, and by them forfeited, but does not 
state in what the forfeiture consisted. 

At a meeting of the Superintendents of the BrothcrtowU' 
Indians, held in the school house in said town, January 8th, 
1812. Present — Uri Doolittle and Asahel Curtis, Super- 
intendents, and William Ilotchkiss, Attorney. At this 
meeting lands were assigned to ten persons and families. A 
part of these lands had been previously assigned and forfeited, 



XV.] MARSHALL. 265 

and it is stated that the forfeiture was worked by the 
persons dying without issue. After these assignments the 
records show that individuals selected such unoccupied or 
forfeited lot as they chose ; then the Peacemakers gave a 
certificate to the superintendents of such choice, which seems 
to have given a right to possession. 

By anact of the Legislature the people of Brothertown 
were to meet on the first Tuesday in April of each year, to 
elect their town officers. At these meetings the Peacema- 
kers presided, and were also authorized to notify special 
meetings. The elective officers were a Clerk, two Overseers 
of the Poor, two Marshals, three Fence Viewers, a Pound 
Master, and Overseers of Highways. The office of Peace- 
maker, answering in most respects to that of a Justice of the 
Peace, and which entitled the possessor to the affixture of 
Esquire to his name, was not elective, but seems to have 
been appointed by the Grovernor and Senate. They liad 
Tithinw-men. but none of the minutes of the town meetings 
show that they were elected. Probably they brought from 
New England the idea of such an officer, but as the office 
was not known to the laws of New York, they selected sucli 
a person to do the duties, only as an individual. 

The book contains many by-laws, quite a portion of which 
are for the suppression of vice and immorality. The by-law 
for the observance of the first day of the week, commonly 
called Sunday, is quite similar to the statute of this State, 
in the characteristics of the oflfence and the amount of tlie 
fine, seventy-five cents, but with this difference " and in case 
no property can be found to answer said fine, and it is not 
answered in thirty days, then every such offender shall by a 
warrant under the hand and seal of any one of the Peace- 
makers of said town, be set publicly in the stocks, for the 
space of two hours, then, and in every such case, the cost for 



266 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

i3xecuting said precepts, shall be paid the Marshal out of the 
treasury of said town." 

By another section the like punishment was to be inflicted 
for card playing and frolicking on Sunday, and on Saturday 
or Sunday evenings. 

In another section a fine of thirty-seven and a half -cents 
is imposed for any one offence in profanely cursing or swear- 
ing, and in default of paying the same in thirty days, or giv- 
ing such security as shall be accepted by the Peacemakers, 
then to be set publicly in the stocks for one hour, and for 
any number of offences, whereof any such offender may be 
convicted at the same time, two hours. Drunkenness is pun- 
ished by the same penalties and pains as cursing and swear- 
ing. Extra penalties are inflicted for intoxication at town 
meetings. There is a section for the punishment of accesso- 
ries to stealing. 

Arbitration is provided for as a court of reference by a 
rule from the Peacemakers. There are a number of sec- 
tions defining the duties of town officers, and one to prevent 
females from attending town meetings. 

In common with most Indian nations, they deprecated any 
mixture with the African race, the following is the forty- 
fourth by-law: — '•'■Negro Mixture Women. As they are not 
proprietors of the tract of land called Brothertown, notwith- 
standing their marrying to any of the inhabitants of said 
town. Therefore, they henceforth shall have no right or 
title to any of the annuity of the said Brothertown Indians." 
In all, there are sixty-seven sections of the by-laws, and this 
notice of them will be concluded by transcribing that in rela- 
tion to "Fugitive Slaves." 

" If any of the inhabitants of Brothertown. at any time 
hereafter shall indulge, harbor or conceal any child or chil- 
dren, servants or apprentices, that lias run away or absconded 



XV.] MARSHALL. 267 

from his, her or their master, guardian or parent, and be 
thereof convicted, shall forfeit and pay to the person ag- 
grieved, the sum of one dollar for every twenty-four hours 
thus indulging, harboring or concealing any child, apprentice 
or servant, without the consent of the master, guardian or 
parent as aforesaid, to be recovered with cost of suit in any 
court of the Peacemakers of Brothertown." 

By the records it appears that the following named persons 
held the office of Superintendent of the Brothertown In- 
dians: — Samuel Jones, Ezra L'Homniedieu, Zina Hitchcock, 
William Floyd, Thomas Eddy, Bill Smith, Thomas Hart, 
Henry McNiel, Uri Doolittle, Asahel Curtis, Joseph Stebbins, 
William Root, Nathan Davis, Austin IMygatt, Samuel L. 
Hubbard, Elijah Wilson, Samuel Comstock. 

The Peacemakers were appointed from among the Indians. 
It would seem that they were usually made from a few of 
the more prominent and educated families, the senior and 
junior members of which sometimes held the appointment at 
the same time. Prominent among the Peacemakers from 
179G to 1843, were the Fowlers. Johnsons, Scheesucks, Tuhis, 
and the Dicks. 

In 1809, the Brothertowns sent John Tuhi, sen., John 
Scheesuck, sen., Jacob Fowler and Henry Cuchip, delegates 
to treat with the western Indians. Their proceedings were 
ordei'ed to be recorded. 

Speech of the said delegates, July 3, 1809, to the Dela- 
wares, and the rest of the Wawponohkies, as follows : 

" BrotJiers : — We sent our salutation to you last year, with 
a promise that we would pay you a visit, we are very glad 
that the Good Spirit has enabled us to sit Avith you at this 
eouncil-fire to-day. 



268 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

"Brothers : — Our ancestors and your forefathers were in 
friendship with each other, but the covenant which they have 
made with your forefathers has been forgotten by us. Nev- 
ertheless, when we heard you were in trouble, we were sorry. 
and when you were promoting peace among yourselves and 
your neighbors, we rejoiced. 

" Brothers : — Our forefathers have had the same fate your 
ancestors have met with, they have had a long war with the 
white people. Our people were then numerous, but after 
many years of storm or war, they made peace, then they 
found their numbers much lessened, and the white people 
jjossessed of their native country, as they have done to your 
forefathers, and for that reason we have had to move from 
place to place, as you have also done. 

"Brothers: — Although we live a great distance from you. 
and in among the white people, ever since we were in being, 
still we feel our minds drawn towards people of our own 
color. 

'•Brothers: — We now take hold of your hand, to renew 
that friendship which subsisted between our ancestors and 
yours, which has been forgotten for a great length of time, 
this friendship is extended to the whole of the confederacA", 
on our part we shall teach our children how to maintain this 
friendship, that it may last to the latest of our generations. 

" Brothers : — We take your council-fire to be the front 
door at which we should enter at first, and here we put down 
our talk and request you to communicate the same to the 
whole of the confederacy. 

[One belt of wampum delivered.] 

"Brothers: — As you have a sad experience for many 
years past, you understand Avell what poverty is, therefore, 
we now lay our case before you, as we have not land enough 



XV.] MARSHALL. 269 

to contain all our people in the east, we should feel happy if 
you would consider us : May the Great Good Spirit enable 
ua to keep this friendship always bright." 

[Delivered a white belt of wampum, with three black Btreaks 
on it, containing ten rows of wampum.] 

Answer to the above : — 

" White River, July 3, 1809, 

"At a General Council held by the Wawponohkies (to 
wit) : — Delawares, Mohiconick, Monssy, Wescoopsey, and 
Nanticoke Nations, at which time Working Pomseon, a prin- 
cipal chief of the Delaware Nation, delivered a speech to the 
deputies of the four towns which stand on the banks of the 
Grand River and River De Trench, also to the Mohekons, 
and the remnant of the seven tribes of Indians who reside 
at Brothertown, in the State of New York, as follows: — 

'' GrapA-ddldren^ Brothers, and FrieruU: — I am happy 
to see you. I salute you all. It is a happy thing that we 
are met together so many of us, the remnant of the AVawpo- 
nohkies, to deliberate upon the welfare of our respective 
tribes. 

" Grand-children : — While we were sitting by the side of 
this river, in a dismal situation, about twelve months ago, 
our grand-children, the chiefs and head warriors of the 
Miamies, arrived and sat where you now sit, and we were 
sitting where we now are, our business with them was to 
settle the difficulties which did arise on account of this land. 

''Grand-children: — With great satisfaction I now men- 
tion to you that last fall the Miamies and ourselves have 
removed all cause of uneasiness, and we have had a confirma- 
tion by the President of the United States, whereby we are 
assured we may live on these lands without molestation. 



270 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

" Grand-children, Brothers, and Friends; — Be it known 
to you that you have the same privilege as we htive to this 
land, wc can not point out a particular spot for you to live 
on, but you may take your own choice wherever you should 
be suited on undivided land along this river, there you may 
build your fire-place. 

'•Grand-cliildren, Brothers, and Friends ; — All our chiefs. 
head warriors, and young men send their salutations to your 
chiefs, heroes, and young men : Be it known then that our 
union is full and complete, and established to-day ; therefore, 
let your eyes be fixed on this place, that yonr minds may not 
be fluctuating as heretofore, but easy and settled. This 
speech is to you all, as we have become one people." 

[Different strings of waminim delivered. Two strings of white 
wampum to tlie Brothertown people. ] 



It will be perceived that the Brothertown Indians are 
spoken of as remnants of seven tribes ; In other parts of 
their records they term themselves emigrants from the seven 
tribes, but no where give the names of all of them. No 
doubt but what there were seven principal tribes from which 
they were derived, but it is a fact well known to a person 
acquainted with the history of the New England Indians 
that a tribe was frequently divided into villages, bearing sep- 
arate names, still members of the same tribe or stock. 

There was another book of records, containing the minutes 
of the courts held by the Peacemakers. Some time in the 
year 1850, the tribe now at Green Bay sent by a messenger 
for both books, but for some reason the messenger did not 
obtain the book containing their town records, but did that 
containing their judicial proceedings, which he took to Green 
Bay. 



XV.J MARSHALL. 271 

A few of the Brotliertown Indians obtained marble slabs, 
and placed them at the graves of their friends. Two only 
of their inscriptions have been obtained. 

"John Tuhi, Esq., 

Died December 14, 1811, 

Aged 65 years." 

This monument is now broken downj and is in three 
pieces, 

•• EsTIIKR POCQUINAI,, 

A Member of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians. 

A Practical and Exemplary Christian. 

Aged 96 years." 



272 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 



CHAPTEK XVI. 



NEW HARTFORD. 



This town embraces territory which was among the early 
settled sections of the county. Although the village of New 
Hartford received its name at an early period, yet until 
1827 the present territory of the town was included in 
Whitestown. 

The settlement of this town was commenced by Colonel 
(afterwards Judge) Jedediah Sanger, who arrived at the site 
of the village, and commenced making improvements, in 
March, 1788. He bought 1,000 acres of land lying upon, 
and about equally divided by, the Sauquoit Creek, and 
which includes the whole of the present village. He con- 
tracted to pay fifty cents per acre, and within the first year 
of his residence he sold one half of his purchase, including 
all on the east side of the creek, to Joseph Higbee, for one 
dollar per acre, thus clearing one half of his purchase, in- 
cluding the site of most of the village. Higbee's half of 
the entire tract was found, upon a re-survey, to contain six 
hundred acres. 

Under the auspices of its enterprising founder. New 
Hartford had a rapid growth, and the evidences of the 
energy of its master-spirit were every where witnessed, and 
a large clearing made in the course of the first season. In 
March, 1789, Col Sanger removed his family to New Hart- 
ford, and in that year he erected a saw mill, and in tlie 



XVI.] NEW HARTFORD. 27o 

following year a grist mill. In the first three years of its 
settlement, this town contained a band of pioneer settlers, 
who compared favorably with those of any section of the 
county. 

Those who settled west of the village, and in the vicinity 
of the present plank road, were Ashbel Beach, x\mos Ives, 
Solomon Blodget, Sa!lmon Butler, Joel Blair (the three last 
named at Middle Settlement), Agift Hill (on the farm for 
many years owned by Oliver Sandford, Esq.), a Mr. Wyman 
(on the farm now owned by Linus Pai-sons), and Stepheii 
Bushnell (who settled upon the farm now occupied by his 
sou of the same name), and Oliver Collins and Joseph Jen- 
nings (upon the road from Middle Settlement to Whites- 
boro). Those who settled east of New Hartford village, 
were Joseph Higbee, Nathan Seward, xind John French ; 
and south of the village, three families of Kelloggs, two of 
Risleys, two of Olmsteads, and Messrs. Seymour, Butler. 
Hurlburt, Kilborn, and Montague. In the early settlement 
of Chautauque County, a branch of the Bisley family emi- 
grated thither, and a member of the family — Hon. Elijali 
Kisley — has been Sheriff of the county, and a Representa- 
tive in Congress. 

The village and territory now embraced within the town 
of New Hartford, for a considerable number of years made 
a healthy and rapid progress in population and wealth. 
The construction of the Seneca turnpike road, in 1800, gave 
the village great advantages, and its business soon out- 
stripped that of many of its cotemporaries. For the loca- 
tion of the road through this place, the town was indebted to 
the same master-spirit. Located as the village was, out of 
the direct route, yet Judge Sanger, by taking a large amount 
of stock, exerting his potent influence, and putting in full 
exercise his industry and perseverance, when a valuable 

18 • 



274 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP'. 

object was to be attained, could scarcely fail, and success 
crowned his efforts. The immense water power of the creek 
was then just being developed, and from that time to the 
present, its use iu propelling machinery has rapidly in- 
creased. 

For a considerable portion of the time after the construc- 
tiou of the turnpike, and before the completion of the 
middle section of the Erie Canal, a. much larger amount of 
business was done in New Hartford village than in Utica ; 
and to its extensive water power— the lack of which has 
ever been severely felt in the latter i^lace— was this extent 
of business attributable. Even her merchants, at the head 
of whom stood the heavy firm of Wilbor & Stanton, at one 
time traded more extensively than those of its neighbor on 
the Mohawk. Bat the construction of the Erie Canal dried 
up many of the sources of the prosperity of New Hartford, 
in common with other villages situated upon the turnpike. 
The carrying business for the mighty west at onee left the 
Great Western turnpikes for the canal, and Utica soon 
grew to be a city, and the New Hartford merchants were 
obliged to yield the palm. The canal, did not, however, cut 
off one most important source of prosperity, for the Sauquoit 
continued to flow on, and with this advantage New Hartford 
must ever continue a village of considerable business. 

The village contains at this time four dry goods stores, 
one druggist and one grocei'y, two tin shops, one cabinet and 
one paint shop, one blacksmith and wheelwright, and two 
shoe shops, two taverns, two large and three small cotton 
factories, one grist and one saw mill, and a tannery, at which 
more than $30,000 worth of leather is manufactured an- 
nually. The village also contains five houses, for public 
worship, viz. : — one each for the Presbyterians, Episcopal- 
ians, Methodists, Friends, and Universalists ; and also five 



XVI.] NEW HARTFORD. 275 

ministers of the Gospel, four physicians, no lawyer, and 
about 1,000 inhabitants. 

The first child born in New Hartford, was tlie late Dr. 
Uriel H. Kellogg. He died some four or five years since 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The oldest religious society in New Hartford, is the 
Presbyterian ChurcJt, which was organized, with thirteen 
members, August 27, 1791, by the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, 
D. D., of New Haven, Conn. It was organized in the same 
month, and by the same clergyman, as was the Congrega- 
tional Church in Clinton. This was also formed as a Con- 
gregational Church, and so remained until 1802, but since 
which its discipline has been in strict accordance with the 
standards of the Presbyterian Church. Its first pastor was 
Dan Bradley, who was ordained in February, 1792, and was 
dismissed in December, 1794. On the 6th of September 
following, Mr. Bradley removed to Marcellus, Onondaga 
County, and it appears that he did not again preach the 
Gospel, but entered on the business of farming, and in after- 
life became one of the most skilful and scientific agricultur- 
ists of Onondaga County. He was appointed a County 
Judge in 1801, and First Judge in 1808, and was appointed 
President of the first Onondaga Comity Agricultural Society 
in 1819. He died at his residence, at jVIarcellus, September 
19, 1838, aged 71 years. He wrote much for the different 
agricultural periodicals of his day. 

The next pastor was the Rev. Jo.shua Johnson, who wa.s, 
installed October 26, 1795. It is said that the young people, 
to do due honor to the occasion, held in the evening an 
'• Ordination Ball]^ but some, persons living at the present 



276 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

(lay entertain doubts as to the correctness of this statement. 
The balance of testimony is, however, in favor of the asser- 
tion that a '-ball" was actually got up for the occasion. Loth 
as the writer is to believe that so solemn an occasion should 
have been desecrated by the mirth and levity usually found 
in the ball room, still he finds the '' Ordination Ball" noticed 
by two respectable authors,* who have published histories of 
the times, and it is believed neither would have so done had 
not the evidence been to him entirely satisfactory. 

Another circumstance in relation to the ordination of !Mr. 
Johnson, is deemed of sufficient importance to be preserved 
in the history of the times. At a day some time previous 
to his ordination, a council was called to examine him, and, 
if found worthy and competent, to officiate iu the ordination 
ceremonies, and so confident were the church and society in 
the fitness of their candidate, that public notice was given 
that the ordination would take place on the day succeeding 
the sitting of the council. The council convened and en- 
tered upon their duties, and ou the next day a large con- 
course assembled to witness the ceremonies. After waiting 
.some time, the chairman of the council came in, and informed 
the people that the council had found the candidate not suf- 
ficiently orthodox to admit of his ordination, but did not 
state the points upon which he was considered heterodox. 
Mr. Johnson was then requested, by one of the leading mem- 
bers of the society, to state why the council refused his 
ordination, and he complied with the request. The senti- 
ment to which he could not give his assent, was one that had 
caused much agitation in the religious world at the time. 
It was this: — "That before saving grace could be applied to 
the conversion of the soul, it must feel an entire willingness 
to be damned." The assembly dispersed, and a council was 

* Tracy's Lectures, and Clark's History of Onondag-a. 



XVI.J NEW HARTFORD. 277 

called from New England, which took a different view of the 
question, and Mr. Johnson was ordained and installed on the 
day above mentioned. 

Mr. Johnson preached to this people five years, and was 
dismissed December 15, 1800. Rev. Samuel F. Snowdeu 
was installed in May, 1807, and was dismissed in August, 

1813. The Rev. Noah Coe was installed pastor in June, 

1814, and continued his pastoral labors for more than twenty' 
years, and was dismissed in February, 1835. He was highly 
respected and beloved by his people. The Rev. Moses C. 
Searle was installed July 8, 1835, and was dismissed in 
June. 1845. The present pastor, Rev. E. H. Payson, was 
installed October 14, 1845. There are now over 200 com- 
municants in the church. 

This church and society ei'ected the first house for public 
worship in the county, and indeed in the State west of Her- 
kimer. It was erected in 1793, although not completed, nor 
the steeple erected, until 1796. Great credit should cer- 
tainly be awarded the architect, for although remodelled and 
repaired, the house is still occupied, and the steeple yet 
stands, and it yet is in appearance a very respectable house 
of public worship, venerable for its age, it having outlived 
many of its juniors, and seniors it had none, in the county. 
In this house was held the first County Court held within 
the limits of Oneida County. Judge Sanger gave the lot on 
which it was erected, and also gave a lot in Sangerfield for 
the benefit of the church. 

The 'Episcoiml Churcli at this place is styled. — " St. 
Stephen's Church, New Hartford." Rector, Rev. Stephen 
H. Battin. Belonging to this society are about forty-five 
families, comprising nearly 200 individuals, and about sixty 
communicants. It has a Sunday school, with five teachers, 



278 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAF. 

and about forty pupils ; and it has a neat brick church 
edifice, with a tower and bell, erected in 1825. Judge San- 
ger gave the lot upon which it stands, and also by his will 
gave an annuity of S250 to aid in the support of a clergy- 
man. 

There is an E23iscopal Methodist Society in this town 
which have a small, yet very neat house of worship in New 
Hartford village. 

The Friends have a small society in the town, with a small 
house for worship in the south part of the village. Their 
house, like all those of the denomination, has its two front 
doors, where the males and females enter separately. The 
members here, as every where, are characterized for their 
industry, temperance, simplicity, neatness, and thrift. 

The Univcrsalist Society in this town is the parent stock 
of the denomination in Central New York, and the third in 
the State. The two older societies were one in the city of 
New York, gathered by the Rev. Edward Mitchell in 1797, 
and the other in Hartwick, Otsego County, gathered in 1S03. 
The doctrine was introduced into this place by the llev. 
Nathaniel Stacy, in 1805, and in December of that year 
was formed "The Univcrsalist Society of Whitestown." 
For many years this was the principal seat of the denomi- 
nation in a large extent of country, and its influence was 
wide-spread. Judge White, the pioneer of Whitestown, was 
one of its prominent members. In IS 15 this society built a 
small but comfortable church, a little below New Hartford 
village, on the road to Utica. which is still standing, and 
occupied as a house of worship by those who have followed 
in the faith of their fathers, — the doctrine of universal 
salvation. 



XVI.] NEW HARTFOKD. 279 

There was also for a few years a small Baptist Church in 
the town, organized as a branch of the church at Whitesboro, 
but which was dissolved in 1844-. In 1840 this body re- 
ported thirty-one members, and James Reed, a licentiate, as 
their preacher; in 1841 it, instead of remaining a branch, 
organized as a church; and in 1843 reported but twenty- 
four members, and Elder O. Tuttle as pastor. 



■ Jedediah Sanger. — This individual, whose name is so 
prominent in the history of the first settlement of the towns 
of New Hartford and -Sangerfield, was born in Sherburne, 
Middlesex County, Massachusetts, on the '29th of February, 
1751, consequently he had a birth-day but once in four years. 
His parents were Richard and Deborah Sanger, who had 
ten children. Jedediah being the ninth. He received but the 
common education of boys at that time, worked upon a farm, 
nnd subsequently kept a small store. In May, 1771, he 
was married to Sarah Rider, by whom he had four children, 
none of whom survived him except a daughter, now the 
widow Eames, who resides a short distance south of New 
Hartford village. In 1782 he removed to Jeffries, Cheshire 
'County, New Hampshire, where he purchased a large farm, 
which he carried on, keeping a tavern, and also a small store 
in his tavern and dwelling. He was successful for two years, 
v/hen, in 1784, his store and dwelling, with their entire con- 
tents, were consumed by fire. The time of the fire seemed 
to be peculiarly unprqpitious, for two heavy loads of groceries 
had arrived at the close of the preceding day, and which had 
been unloaded just in time to be destroyed. The loss left 
.Mr. Sanger bankrupt, but his was not th^ courage to quail 



280 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

uudcr misfortune, He was but thirty-three years of age, 
with a perseverance which could overcome every thing but 
impossibilities. Soon after his loss, the account of the far- 
famed "Whitestown Country" reached him, and he deter- 
mined to emigrate thither as soon as he could arrange his 
business to do so. His arrangements having been completed, 
hu started upon his. j,ourney for that then almost uixknowu 
country, and commenced the settlement of New Hartford 
in March, 1788. The author believes it but justice to his 
memory in this place to disabuse the public as to the report 
that he clandestinely left Jeffries, " between two days and 
two weeks," to avoid his creditors. From the most reliable 
information, this was not the case. That he left on Monday 
morning, and took what, in the parlance of the times, was 
termed an '• early start," some two or three o'clock, was true ; 
but that the journey was kept secret, is incorrect. He gavu 
his word to his creditors, that i£ he was ever able, no man 
should lose one penny by him, and such was their confidence 
in his integrity, that no effort was made to molest him, 
knowing as they did that his bankruptcy had been caused by 
unavoidable misfortune ; and most sacredly was the promise 
remembered and kept, for after he had becc-me prosperous. 
and able to do so, the last farthing of his debts, principal 
and interest, was paid. 

As has been stated, he built a saw mill in 1 789-, and gri.vt 
mill in 1790. In 1796 he erected the first grist and savr 
mills on the outlet of the Skaneateles Lake, now in the 
beautiful village of Skaneateles, Onondaga County. He 
was one of tho acting and leading partners in the Paris Fur- 
nace, which was erected in 1800, and went into operation in 
1801. In 1805 he was engaged in the manufacture of cot- 
ton. His land agencies for the Coxes and other proprietors 
in New York and Philadelphia, have to some extent' beeii 



XVI. J NEW HARTFORD. 281 

noticed. Ho spent eleven winters in Albany as a member 
of the Senate and Assembly, to each of these bodies, having 
been elected by the people. He was the first Supervisor of 
Whitestown, and held the office for three successive years. 
He was appointed First Judge of Oneida County upon its 
organization, and held the office until 1810, when he resigned, 
a-s, by the constitution and laws, his age (60 years) disquali- 
fied him from holding that office. 

His first wife died September 26, 1814. His second mar- 
riage was to Sarah B. Kissam, August 31, 1815, who died 
April 23, 1825. His third marriage was to Fanny Dench, 
October 3, 1827. She survived her husband, and died in 
May, 1842. The subject of this brief memoir died June 6, 
1829. The following epitaph is copied from his monument 
in the village cemetery: — 

Sacred 

to the memory 

of 

Hon. JliDEDIAH S.INGEE, 

who died June 6, 
A. D. 1829, 
The founder of New Hartford. 
His charities are widely extend'Cd, 
And his munificence has reared 
And supported several edifices 
Devoted to the service of his » 

Maker. 

His virtues are indelibly impressed 

upon the 

Hearts of his Countrymen. 



Upon the cenotaph in the Episcopal Church, raised by 
members of his- own family, is the following inscription ; — 



282 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

Sacred 

to the memory 

of 

Jedediah Sanger, 

Born Feb. 29th, 1751, 

Died June 6th, 1829. 

He, 

being dead, yet 

speaketh. 

The distinguishing traits of Judge Sanger's character 
were, great energy and decision, close application to business, 
coupled with the strictest integrity. In polities, he belonged 
to the Federal School. He was liberal and public-spirited, 
and his benefactions to the public seemed to have been re- 
turned to him tenfold. 



Gen. Oliver Collins was one of the very early settlers 
of New Hartford. He was a native of the State of Connec- 
ticut, and served in the Continental Army, in the Line of 
that State, in the capacity of a sergeant. At the close of 
the revolutionary contest he, in common with his comrades, 
was di.scharged, with a worthless currency in his pocket as 
pay, yet rich in the consciousness of having well performed 
his duty to his country, and in that resolution which or- 
dinarily brings success. 

It is believed he emigrated to this town in 1789. He 
commenced on the farm now owned by Thomas W. Moore, 
a short distance from Middle Settlement, on the road to 
Whitc-^boro, where he continued to reside the remainder of 
his life. At an early period he received a captain's com- 
mission in the militia company organized in Whitestown, 
from whence he rose in regular military gradation to the 



SVr.] XEW HARTFORD. 283 

rank of Brigadier- General. While holding this commission, 
the war of 1812 was declared, and in this war also he ren- 
dered valuable services to his country, having been, in 1814, 
commandant of that most important military post, Sacketts 
Harbor. Here his position was a most trying one. The 
British, in the latter part of this year, had the naval ascen- 
dency on Lake Ontario. The United States' regular army 
was mostly with General Brown on the Niagara frontier, 
and the whole American flotilla on Lake Ontario was moored 
at this place, the enemy's odds against it being too great to 
justify its taking the offensive upon the Lake. The garrison 
at Sacketts Harbor consisted of but the 13th regiment, 
about 500 strong, a battalion of artillery, a few hundreds of 
militia, and the sailors and marines belonging to the fleet. 
With this incompetent force for the defence of millions of 
public property, which the enemy were constantly menacing, 
Gen. Collins called out the militia of Oneida County en 
masse. The call was promptly obeyed, but from misman- 
agement in the commissariat, the provisions furnished were 
inferior in quality, and unwholesome. To add to this, the 
.season was very rainy, and the streets in Sacketts Harbor 
and its environs became so bad as to be almost impassable, 
even the sidewalks in many instances being ancle deep in 
mud. Disease soon made its appearance in the militia, and 
was very mortal. Panic seized them, and they de.serted 
even by half companies, in some instances the commandants 
of companies running away with portions of their commands. 
Many, however, had too much patriotism and principle to 
quit the post without leave, but, when taken sick, would 
apply to Gen. Collins for passports to go out of the place 
into a more healthy atmosphere. He always treated these 
applications with lightness, and a prompt refusal. Great 
dissatisfaction prevailed. Gen. Collins, no doubt, acted 



284 ANN'ALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

from the best of motives, and if he committed an error in 
Lis treatment of these requests of the militia, it was one of 
the head and not of the heart. His wish was to keep up at 
least a show of defence, until the garrison could be reinforced 
by the army under Gen. Brown', then on its march from 
Buffalo to the Harbor. On Gen. Brown's arrival, he. in 
general orders, highly complimented Gen. Collins for the 
great zeal he had manifested in the public service. 

O^n the expiration of Gen. Collins' term of service at 
yacketts Harbor, he returned to Oneida County, and ordered 
a Court Martial for the trial of the deserters from the de- 
tached Militia at the Harbor. The Court Martial convened 
at the public house kept by Major John Bellinger, in Utica, 
•now known as the "New England House." Some of tho 
culprits employed able counsel for their defence, and in 
addressing the Court Martial, the counsel made the remark 
that, "if the Court presumed to sentence his clients, the 
good citizens of Utica would never suffer the sentence to be 
carried into execution." Notwithstanding, the delinquents 
were sentenced to have all their back pay stopped, and to 
be drummed out of camp, as far as Dcerfield Corners, with 
the " Rogue's March," wearing their coats wrong side out. 
Gen. Collins, who was present, and whose duty it became to 
see the sentence of the Court Martial carried into execution, 
and taking the hint from the remarks of the prisoner's coun- 
sel, went to the commandant of a company of regular 
soldiers, then stationed in Utica. and loaned their music and 
a sergeant's guard of sixteen men, to assist in the perform- 
ance of his duty. The guard were marched to Bellinger's, 
and the prisoners brought forward. A considerable number 
of persons had collected, and there was unmistakable evi- 
dence that there was a disposition to carry out the threat of 
counsel. Gen. Collins at once ordered the guard to load 



XV:.] NEW HARTFORD. 285 

their pieces with ball cartridges, and then turning to the 
spectators, said, " If you interfere in this business. Gentle- 
men, it is at your peril, for I will cause more bullet holes to 
be made through your bodies, than there are button-holes in 
your coats." It is almost needless to add that there was 
no interference, and that the sentence was executed to the 
letter. 

At the close of the war he retired to private life, and upon 
the farm he had redeemed from the forest, he spent the 
remainder of his days in quiet, having by his industry and 
economy secured a competence for his declining years. In 
his politics, Gen. Collins never swerved from the Democratic 
platform. He was four times married. His eldest son died 
some years ago, in St. Lawrence County. His second son has 
been one of the most prominent citizens of Lewis County. 
His relict, and a .son and daughter, now reside in Manchester 
village. Gen. Collins died August 14, 1838, aged 76 years. 



MANUFACTURES. 



This town, located as it is on both sides of the Sauquoit 
Creek, a stream which for its size stands unrivalled for its 
water power, has ever held a high position as a manufactur- 
ing town, and contains a larger number of manufactories 
than any other town in the county, or probably in the State. 
Near the north line of the town, are the " New York Upper 
Mills," an establishment owned by the same company as the 
New York Mills, just Ijelow, in Whitestown, and consists 
of a large stoae building and a wooden one. The wooden 
building has ever been known as the " Burr Stone Factory," 
having received its name from its having been erected and 
long used as a grist mill, in which the first French burr mill- 



286 ANNALS or ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Stones in the coiinty were used in the manufacture of flour. 
These Upper Mills are entirely employed in the manufac- 
ture of colored goods, pantaloon stuffs and chambrays, of 
which 25,000 yards per week are turned off". It employs 
450 operatives, and pays about $1,000 per week for labor. 

Next above is what was formerly the " Capron Factory,'' 
now the "Utiea Cotton Mills." It manufactures 28,000 
yards per week, employs 156 operatives, 136 looms, and 
7.000 spindles, and uses annually 1,150 bales of cotton of 
400 pounds each. 

Above are Howell's two factories, the New Hartford Mill. 
Washington Mill, and two factories known as the "Hollister 
Factories." The location of the Hollister manufacturing 
establishment at this place has received the local name of 
Checkerville, from the fact th^t Mr. Hollister, at the time of 
his commencement here, was engaged in business in the 
Checkered Drug Store in Utica. 

Still above are the large machine sh&p and foundry of 
Rogers & Spencer. The location of the latter has received 
the romantic name of Willow Vale, from the number of 
willows growing in the vicinity, on the margin of the creek 
and dyke. 

Near the south line of the town are the Eagle Cotton 
Mills of Chadwick & Sons. 

In the north-west corner of the town, on the Oriskany 
Creek, are Clark's Mills, for the manufacture of cotton. 
The building is 250 feet long, 70 wide, and four stories high, 
the wheel house, which projects from the centre of the build- 
ing, being five stories ; the basement is of sto-ne, the remain- 
der of brick. Until the recent erection of the Utica Steam. 
Cotton Mills, this was the largest building for manufacturing 
purposes in the county. At this place the town of West- 
moreland lies on the west side of the creek, and the towns of 



XVI. J NEW HARTFORD. 287 

New Hartford, Whitestowu, and Kirkland corner on the 
bridge which here spans the stream ; this leaves the build- 
ings of the company in all four of the towns ; the main 
factory, however, is in New Hartford. The factory has been 
built within the last five years, and is owned by Ralph Clark, 
of the firm of Ealph Clark & Co., of the city of New York, 
and his brothers Enos and Ammi B., who reside near the 
premises, and are engaged in the business of the factory, a 
store, and a grist and saw mill just above, in the town of 
Kirkland. All this business can not fail shortly of building 
up a large and important village. The building is as yet 
but half filled with machinery, and it is probable that the 
whole creek, with the heavy fall attained, will be unequal to 
the carrying of the machinery the building is capable of con- 
taining, but that a steam engine will have to be called to its 
aid. 

There are four grist and nine saw mills in the town. 



288 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cKAP. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PARIS. 

The first settlor of this town was a Capt. Rice, who moved 
on to what is now known as Paris Hill, about the first of 
March, 1789. About three weeks after, and on the 20th of 
March, Benjamin Barnes, Benjamin Barnes, jun., and John 
Humaston, arrived and settled in the neighborhood. Three 
days after the arrival of Mr. Barnes, Stephen Barrett came, 
and within a few weeks after, three brothers, Aaron, Adams, 
and Abel Simmons, moved on to the Hill. These were the 
first settlers of the town of Paris, as it now is ; but it should 
be borne in mind that Clinton, which was originally included, 
and whose inhabitants gave it its name, was settled two 
years earlier by Capt. Foot and his company. 

The early settlers of Paris Hill were a moral and religious 
people. In 1791 a small Congregational Church, of five 
members, was constituted by Dr. Jonathan Edwards, while 
on the same visit to these frontier settlements in which he 
officiated in the formation of the first churches at Clinton and 
New Hartford. All that is obtained of the history of the 
Paris Hill Church is contained in the inscription from the 
table stone over the grave of the Rev. Mr. Steele, its first 
pastor, which is copied entire. It is very much regretted 
tliat more of the earlier and later statistics of this venerable 
body have not been obtained. Assurances were made that, 
without fail, they should be forthcoming, but they have never 
been received. 



xvn.] PARIS. 289 

This Monument is erected 

to the memory of the 

Rev. Eliphalet Steele, A. M., 

By his affectionate Church, 

In testimony of 

their respect for his talents, 

and gratitude for his 

faithful labors 

in the pastoral office. 

Watchful and diligent, 

An impartial inquirer 

^ after truth, 

An able defender of the 

Christian faith. ' 

He was born at Hartford, Conn., 

June 26, 1742, 

Graduated at Yale College, 1764, 

Was ordained to the work of 

the Gospel Ministry 

at Egremont, Mass., 1770, 

Dismissed from his pastoral charge 

in that place, 1794, 

Installed at Paris, July 15, 1795, 

Died Oct. 7, 1817, aged 75. 

The Church in Paris, 

of which he was the first Pastor, 

was formed by the 

Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D., in 1791, 

of 5 members. 

When Mr. Steele was installed, 

it consisted of 19, 

273 were added during his ministry, 

and at the time of his decease 

there were 193 membei's. 

Mr. Steele was considered by his cotemporaries as very 
orthodox, and sound in his sentiments. He was a man of 
great plainness of speech, and by some it was thought his 

19 



290 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CKAP. 

manuer savored of bluntness. An anecdote is recollected by 
the author, and is given as illustrative of the man. About 
the commencement of the present century, at a meeting of 
the Oneida Association, a charge was preferred against a 
young clergyman for preaching unsound doctrine. He had 
been cited, and was present with the manuscript of the ser- 
mon complained of On the sermon's being read, it was 
found there was nothing objectionable in sentiment,, but was 
obscurely worded. Mr. Steele took the occasion to lecture 
the young man to be more cautious in his language, and 
ended with this remark : " Aye, young man, you do not know 
more than half as much as I do, and I do not know one half 
as much as I think I do." This, it must be confessed, was 
a very peculiar way of putting himself on a level, as to 
knowledge, with the young man to whom he was administer- 
ing a reproof 

In the History of Berkshire County^ speaking of Mr. 
Steele, is the following: — "The people generally [of Egre- 
mont] were united in their pastor, until the time of Shay's 
rebellion. As he was supposed to be favorable to the Gov- 
ernment, the malcontents became his enemies and opposers. 
On a certain occasion, several armed ruffians violently en- 
tered his house in the night season, and after treating him in 
a very insolent and abusive manner, carried away his watch, 
and several articles of clothing." Mrs. McNiel, widow of 
the late Henry McNiel, Esq., of Paris, and daughter of Mr. 
Steele, and who now resides in Clinton, although but a small 
girl at the time, well remembers this transaction. She says 
that armed sentinels were placed at all the doors and win- 
dows of the house, to prevent any persons escaping, and 
"•iving the alarm. The numbers in and about the house 
were so great, that resistance was entirely hopeless, and none 
was made. She had blue silk in the house for a new bonnet, 



XV'Xl.] PARIS. 291 

which was taken by these marauders, they saying that it 
would make good colors for Shays. When the party left. 
they fired two guns in quick succession, supposed to be sig- 
nals. Parties became so violent, that he was dismissed by a 
council, April 29, 1794. 

For more than forty years after the first settlement of 
Paris Hill, its inhabitants were reckoned as a sober, moral, 
and industrious people. About the year 1835, perhaps ear- 
lier, their fears became awakened, and their suspicions aroused, 
tliat a number of young men, residents on the Hill and 
vicinity, were extensively engaged and connected in shop- 
lifting, and passing counterfeit money. Great vigilance and 
prudence had to be exercised in the matter. The culprits 
managed so ingeniously and cautiously, that years passed 
before the proofs had become sufficient to make any arrests. 
In the latter part of 1837 and the fore part of 1838, there 
were several arrests made, and the proof found sufficient to 
put them on trial. As they were men of property and tact, 
it now became necessary that every proper exertion should 
be made to convict the guilty. Many of the most respec- 
table inhabitants stepped forward to strengthen the hands of 
the officers of the law. As the accused had the means, the 
most eminent counsel were employed in their defence, and 
equal counsel was retained by said inhabitants to assist the 
District Attorney. In March, 1838, Hiram W. Meeker 
was tried and sent to the State's Prison. In June, Daniel 
Head, Oran Head, and George Brown were convicted and 
sentenced each to five years in the State's Prison. At the 
same term Guy Carter, jun., was tried, but succeeded in 
getting a verdict of not guilty ; subsequently he was tried 
for larceny, and still more subsequently for perjury, but his 
good fortune in procuring testimony seemed to defy the 
meshes of the law. and he escaped conviction. After these 



292 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cllAP, 

repeated admouitions that the way of the transgressor is 
hard, and after his father, who was an able farmer, had ex- 
pended his all, in the defence of his son, justice, though 
tardy, was sure. He went to Schenectady, passed counter- 
feit money, was arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to the 
State's Prison. It was well remarked at the close of that 
June term, that Oneida County never in one year sent four 
better looking, better dressed, or more talented men to the 
Lpffislature, than it now sent to the State's Prison. 

Some important civil causes that were tried soon after, 
one of which was to some extent connected with a portion of 
the criminal prosecutions, caused a most deplorable state of 
things. Few, however fair their characters had previously 
been, were found who could not be impeached ; such power- 
ful litigants seemed to manufacture testimony for the occa- 
sion. Neighbor was arrayed against neighboi*, and most 
fortunate did the counsellor consider himsel£ who could get 
one witness on to the stand who was not impeached by a 
dozen before the trial closed. This state of things has since 
subsided, and now society moves as quietly as in most other 
sections of the county. The lesson taught, that however 
successful, for a while, combinations in crime may prove, 
'•justice will surely overtake the wicked," has been most 
salutary. It is but justice to close this lamentable chapter 
of crime with the remark, that many of the parents and 
relatives of the young men were not at all implicated. Un- 
pleasant as has been the duty of penning the foregoing, still 
the hopes that it might be a beacon-light to the young men 
of Oneida, has been the only incentive. 

The oldest monument in the burying ground is that of 
Harriet, daughter of Henry and Margaret McNiel, who 
died April 28, 1796, aged one year and nine months. The 
nest oldest is that of Ebenezer Ketchum. who died July 8, 



XVii.] PARIS. ~93 

179G,.in the fifth year of liis age. That there were earlier 
deaths at this jihxce is probable, but the author has been un- 
able to procure any earlier data. 

In looking thraugh this cemetery, a number of things 
strike the eye of the observer as singular. Deacon Nathan- 
iel Tompkins had erected four monuments to as many wives 
he had buried side by side. The first, Elizabeth, died March 
22, IS05, aged 27; the second, Mehitabel, who died Sep- 
tember 10. 1810. aged 29 ; the third, Lueretia, died October 
10, 1827, aged 43 ; and the fourth, Clarissa, who died May 
20, 1839, aged 50. Deacon Tompkins himself died January 
IS, 1848, in the seventy-third year of his age. He left a 
widow, who still survives. 

In another part of the jard, is a stone erected to the 
memory of seven children of Patrick and Martha Camp- 
bell, aged four, sixteen, twenty-five, twenty, sixteen, twenty- 
five, sixteen. 

On another stone is this inscription : — 

" In Remembrance of Georcie Stanton-, wlio was burned in Lis 
house, Feb. 11, 1S27, aged G7 years." 

On inquiry, the author learned that he was a brother of 
Deacon Daniel Stanton, and that he resided about one and a 
half miles from the village, within the present limits of the 
town of Marshall The house was burned in the night 
time, during one of the coldest and most severe snow 
storms for many years ; and it was supposed that Mr. Stan- 
ton succeeded in saving some articles of furniture, and went 
back for others, when, mistaking a door, he fell into the 
cellar, where his remains were found. He left a wife and 
three daughters, who escaped with nothing but their night 
clothes, and before they could get to a neighbor's, their 



294 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTl'. [cllAV. 

limbs were all more or less frozen, some so severely that it 
was with difiiculty they were saved from amputation. 

As an historical reminiscence, it should be mentioned that, 
early in the settlement of this place, it was visited by Bush- 
rod Washington, to see the lands that had fallen to him, as 
legatee of his illustrious relatiA'e, " the father of his country." 

St. Paul's Church, Paris Hill — Ej^lscnpalian. — This is 
one of the oldest societies of this denomination in the county. 
The Rev. William Baker is rector at this time. By the 
parochial report to the diocese of Western New York, for 
1850, there were fifty families belonging to the congregation, 
thirty-six communicants, five of whom had been admitted 
within the year. The rector reports that " the parish of 8t. 
Paul's is in a very prosperous state." '• The time to favor 
Zion, the set time, is come," and brethren dwell together in 
unity. Funds have been raised to enclose the church and 
lot with a neat fence, which is in progress. The vestry pro- 
pose to plant shade trees around the church, which will be a 
great improvement. 



Sauquoit. — The name of this village is taken from that 
of the creek on Avhich it stands, and is a corruption of the 
original Indian name, Se-dau-quate. 

This village (or more properly two villages)' stands on two 
jiarallel streets, about half a mile from each other, on oppo- 
site sides of the creek, and united by a cross street. On 
tlie west side is a tavern and store, the Presbyterian Church, 
post office, with quite a number of private dwellings. On 
the east side is the Methodist Church, the Academy, a store, 



XVII.] PARIS. 29'5 

a tavern, as also a number of private dwellings, mechanics, 
etc. On the cross street there are various kinds of machinery 
turned with Avater power. 

The settlement of this section of Paris was commenced 
soon after that on the Hill. In the fall of the same year, 
(1789,) Phineas Kellogg came and built a log house about 
100 rods north of where Savage's tavern is now located. In 
March, 1790, Mr. Kellogg, John Butler, Sylvester Butler, 
Asa Shepard, and Mrs. Plumb and two children (the wife 
and children of Joseph Plumb), removed from New Eng- 
land, and arrived at the house built by Kellogg the preced- 
ing fall. When they arrived, they found the roof broken in 
by the snow, a heavy bank of which yet remained in the 
house ; this was shoveled out, and the room made as com- 
fortable as circumstances would permit, for the accommodation 
of the new comers. Mr. Plumb followed the same spring. 
In the course of the season, probably there were some ar- 
rivals, for in the fall William Swan, a lad of about fourteen 
years of age, died, which was the first death within the 
present limits of Paris, of which there is at this time any 
knowledge. The winter after Swan died, there were two or 
three deaths in the vicinity from the small pox. 

In the year 1791, Kirkland Griffin, Capt. Abner Bacon, 
Deacon Simeon Coe, Spencer Briggs, Baxter Gage, Josiah 
Hull, Nathan Robinson, Enos Pratt, and a Mr. Root, settled 
in the vicinity of Sauquoit. Mr. Butler is yet living on a 
farm about a mile west of the village, and Enos Pratt lives 
in Westmoreland. These two, it is believed, are all that sur- 
vive of the heads of families who came to this part of Paris 
in the two years named. 

Kirkland Griffin, Esq., whose name has been mentioned as 
one of the early settlers of. the Sauquoit valley, resided on 
the east side of the creek. During our revolutionary con- 



296 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. f CHAP. 

test, his life was an eventful one. He shipped ou board of 
one of the earliest privateers that were fitted out in that 
contest, to annoy and cripple the commerce of Britain. 
The cruise was a short and unfortunate one, for their craft 
was soon captured by superior force, and taken to England. 
and himself and comrades were confined in that den of 
misery, the Mill Prison. Here the suiferings of the prison- 
ers were most intense. So stinted was their supply of food, 
that if fortunately a rat could be caught, ^t was roasted and 
deemed a luxui-y. Suffice it to say, that their sufi'erings 
were only equalled by the prisoners on board the Jersey 
prison ship, and the sugar house in New York. After thus 
suffering for two years and five months, they were exchanged, 
and sent in a cartel to the minister of the United States iu 
France. Accessions of captured sailors had from time to 
time been made to their numbers, so that, when exchanged, 
there were over two hundred. They were shipped for the 
United States ou board the Alliance, the consort of the 
Bonhomme Richard, under the command of Com. Paul 
Jones. That daring officer, instead of sailing direct to the 
United States, must needs '^ beard the lion in his den," by 
cruising around the Island of Britain. On this cruise he 
fell in with and engaged the Serapis frigate. The battle 
that followed was one of the most obstinate and bloody 
recorded in naval warfare. The stars and stripes were vic- 
torious, and St. George's cross humbled before them. After 
the British captain had come on board Com. Jones' vessel, 
he in some way learned that the Mill Prison sailors were on 
board the American vessel, and he then exclaimed, '• Now 
I know wli3' I am conquered ; without those prisoners you 
never could have obtained the victory." And well he might 
th.us form an opinion, for he knew that men who had suffered 
as these men, would take victory or death as a watchword. 



XVII. j PARIS. 297 

vastly preferring the latter in fighting their country's battles. 
to another term in the Mill Prison. 

Confirmatory of this incident in the life of Esquire Griffin, 
the following is extracted from Cooper's Life of Paid Jones: 
— "About this time (1779) a cartel arrived at Nantes, bring- 
ing in more than a hundred exchanged American seamen 
from Mill Prison. A short time before this exchange, Mr. 
Richard Dale, late a master's mate of the U. S. brig Lexing- 
ton, had made his escape from the same prison, and had 
joined Jones in his old capacity. This gentleman, a native 
of Virginia, and subsequently the well known naval captain 
of this name, was now made first lieutenant of the ilichard, 
by Jones, who had blank commissions by him. The men of 
the cartel were applied to, and many of them entered, thus 
giving the Richard a respectable body of Americans to sus- 
tain the honor of the flag she wore." 

Esquire Griffin ever afterwards observed the anniversary 
of his release from the Mill Prison, as a day of thanksgiv- 
ing. In true primeval New England style, on that day, his 
children and children's children were invited guests to share 
the bounty of the patriarch's table. 

Vf hen he left the Serapis, he took from her armament a 
plain cutlass, whicli he afterwards carefully retained. It is 
still preserved in his family, as a memento of the " times that 
tried men's souls." 

lie was truly an excellent man. He held the office of 
Justice of the Peace for a number of years, and was the 
officer for thi« section of the town without distinction of 
party. 

Benjamin Merrills was an early settler in this vicinity. 
He was a soldier in the old French war, and was one of a 
detachment of 500 Connecticut troops sent to Havanna, on 
the Island of Cuba, in that contest. It is recorded in its 



298 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

history, that .such was the unhealthiness of the climate, and 
the fcitality of sickuoss, that but seventeen of their number 
lived to return ; and of this number was Jlr. Merrills. 

In 1802 Judge James Orton kept a store and tavern in a 
part of the building now known as " Savage's Tavern Stand."' 
Previous to Judge Orton's keeping a public house, Capt. 
Abner Bacon had kept a tavern on the site of tlie present 
residence of Col. Chauncy Butler. 

The jSIrthodist Episcopal Church is a neat brick struc- 
ture, erected in 1842. The congregation is respectable, and 
tlie society flourisliing. 

The Union Presbyterian Clinrck of Saucpioit was organ- 
ized January 20, 1810, pursuant to a vote of the Norwich 
Church on the 13th of Decembei-, 1809, dismissing a number 
of their members for that purpose. The services of organ- 
ization were performed in the house of Capt. Abner Bacon. 
the Rev. Messrs. E. AVoodworth, J. Eastman, and J. South- 
Avorth officiating. It consisted of twenty-six members, the 
most of whom were dismissed from the Norwich Church ; 
the remainder were received by letters from other churches, 
and some by profession. For almost a year the church and 
society met in the school liouse, known as the '' Centre School 
House," when their first house for public worship was dedi- 
cated. The first deacons were Joseph Howard, Timothy L. 
Bacon, and David Curtis, and its first minister was the Rev. 
Ezra Woodworth, who was dismissed in 1813. He was suc- 
ceeded by the Rev. Publius V. Bogue, who was subsequently 
installed pastor, March 15, 1815. Mr. Bogue was dismissed 
Februar}' 7, 182G. From Mr. Bogue's dismission until the 
spring of 1829, the Rev. Orin Catlin supplied the pulpit; 
from that time iintil the fall of 1830. the Rev. Oren Hyde; 



xvn.] ' PARIS. 299 

from the fall of 1830 Tentius D. Soutliwortli became stated 
supply, and continued as suoli until the Hev. Beviali Hotcli- 
kin was installed pastor, April 30. 1833. The pa.storate of 
Mr. Hotehkin continued until August 11, 1836. He was 
succeeded by the Rev. Francis Jones, who was installed 
December 5, 1838, and dismissed July, 1841. The present 
pastor, the Rev. John Waugh, immediately succeeded him as 
stated supply, and was subsequently installed, December 27, 
1843, the same day on which their new hou,se of worship was 
dedicated, which is a beautiful and commodious house, sixty 
feet by forty. 

The ecclesiastical i-elations of this church have been twice 
changed. It was organized as Congregationalist, and re- 
mained connected with the Oneida Association until, by an 
unanimous vote, it became attached to Oneida Presbytery, 
on the accommodating plan. On the 2Gth of April, 1832, 
the church resolved to become wholly Presbyterian. 

This church at several times has been visited by powerful 
revivals of religion, particularly in 1820, 1829, 1839, and 
1843. At present it numbers nearly 150 resident communi- 
cants. The valley of the Sauquoit is rapidly filling with, 
inhabitants, and the congregation constantly increasing. 

Cassvii.le. — This is a small village in the south part of 
Paris, and on the Sauquoit Creek. At this point the main 
branch comes from the west, and after uniting with a small 
stream that heads in a large spring a sliort distance south- 
westerly from the village, the creek turns abruptly to t!)o 
north, which course it keeps until it empties into the ]Mo- 
hawk, below Whitesboro. 

The first settlers at this place were Elias Hopkins, Mark 

Hopkins, and Elcazar Kellogg. The precise date of their 

.settlement has not been ascertained, but it was quite early^ 



300 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

as Elius Hopkins built a saw mill, the first mill of any kind 
erected above the Paris Furnace. It stood on the site of 
the grist mill owned by Benjamin Rhodes, of Bridgewater. 
There are now two saw mills on the west branch of the 
creek, above Cassville. There is a fork factory at this place, 
on the stream formed from the spring. There is another 
saw mill a short distance below the village. There was a 
grist mill built very early by John Budlong, (now John- 
son's,) three-fourths of a mile above the Paris Furnace. It 
was reached by a road that came down the liill from tiie 
west; the road up the valley of the creek then reaching mi 
higher than the furnace ; indeed it was for a number of 
years supposed by the first settlers that it would be im- 
possible to make and naaintain a road from the furnace up 
to Cassville ; but modern enterprise has, however, completed 
an excellent plank road between these two places. Bud- 
long's mill is now known as Johnson's. 

There are two houses for public worship in Cassville. 

The Bcqytists have a very neat and well finished house, 
with a tower and bell, and the society is flourishing. Al- 
though requested, the author has been unable to obtain the 
early history of this church. By the minutes of the Oneida 
Baptist Association, in the years 1847 and 1848 this church 
reported 129 members in each year. In the year 1849 it 
reported an addition of forty-one members, twenty-eight by 
baptism, and thirteen by letter, seven dismissed, and three 
died, present number 161. 

Worship is not now sustained in the Presbyterian house. 

From the mill built by Budlong, (now Johnson's.) the 
valley of the Sauquoit is a continuous succession of villages, 
and water iiower n^">'''l''^'^ *'^ -ir'i;>«t "Vf^w manufacturing pur- 



xvn.] PARIS. 301 

pose. For its size and length, the world can hardly furnish 
an equal to the Sauquoit. Its length is but about twelve 
miles, and in that distance there is 860 feet fall, not by 
cataracts, but quite even in its whole course. Next below 
Johnson's mill are the two scythe factories, the upper owned 
by S. A. and the lower by David J. Millard. These fac- 
tories turn out about 4,000 dozen scythes and 3,000 dozen 
forks annually. Next is Miller's machine shop, connected 
with Petty's cupola furnace. Below these are the Clayville 
woolen factories, which manvifacture about 800 yards of 
broad cloths daily, and pay about $80,000 annually for 
labor. This village contains, as near as can be ascertained, 
1,000 inhabitants. In the years 1848 and 1849, there has 
been an elegant Episcopal Church erected and completed in 
this place. 

Next below Clayville is a saw mill owned by J). J. Millard ; 
then the Farmer's Factory, now owned by Hungerford & 
linger, who manufacture 9,000 yards of cotton goods per 
week ; and next the paper mill of Savage and Moore, doing 
a very extensive business. The next in order is the Frank- 
lin Factory, owned by Brownell & Son, who manufacture 
from 15.000 to 20,000 yards of cotton goods per week. The 
next is the Bacon saw and grist mill, now owned by Henry 
Gilbert ; then a saw mill and clothing works, owned by 
Abner Bacon ; next Brownell's new factory ; and last in the 
town of Paris is the saw mill of J. B. Bacon. 

A reminiscence of some interest is related showing how 
mistaken were the views of at least one of the early settlers. 
Judge Sanger sent a millwright, by the name of Spofford, to 
explore the Sauquoit from New Hartford upward, to ascer- 
tain its capacity for water power. After carefully examin- 
ing the stream, he reported that no site for a mill could be 
obtained above New Hartford until a little below where the 



302 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAr. 

Paris Furnace stood, and opposite the residence of the late 
Col. Avery, a distance of nearly six miles, and in which it ia 
now ascertained the creek falls 384 feet. A son of Mr. 
Spofford afterwards erected a saw mill at the place selected 
by his father, and what renders i-t still more peculiar is, 
that the site thus designated is now considered one of the 
least feasible in the vicinity, and since the demolition of the 
saw mill, no structure has been there erected to use the 
water. 

Tlie Paris Furnace, which did an extensive business fof 
many years, was' commenced in 1800, and went into opera- 
tion in 1801 ; it stood a little below the Clayville factories. 
Eliphalet Sweeting was the first founder. 

A man by the name of Hill kept the first boarding house, 
in a log building, and as late as 1802 it was the only build- 
ing within one mile of the furnace. 

On the hill west of the furnace, both above and below, 
the settlement was commenced earlier than at the furnace. 
Among these settlers were Col. Bentley, Deacon Charles 
Allen, and David Budlong. North of the furnace, in 1802, 
there was a log house, in which Thomas Spofi'ord, the son of 
the millwright, resided, directly in front of the mansion of 
the late Col. Avery. The next was three-fourths of a mile 
further north, which was a log house occupied by Theodore 
(jJilbert, and stood near the present Spring House. 

Col. Gardner Avery, who removed to the vicinity of the 
furnace in 1802, was for many years a large stockholder, 
and one of the leading managers of the concern. He was a 
man of strict integrity, and great business habits. The 
fbllowing is his obituary ; — 

'Died, at Saratoga, on the 17th of August, 1849, Col. G.^rdneb 
AvEKY, aged 75 years. Col. Avery was one of the early settlers of 
Oneida, and through a long and active life maintained a character 



XVIl] PARIS. • 303 

for intelligence and integrity, such as few possess. As a professor of 
tlie Christian religion, he was conspicuous for his benevolence, for 
his zeal for promoting the interests of the cause he liad espoused, 
the faithful and conscientious discharge of life's duties, and for a 
deportment generally in harmony with his profession," 

The following appeared in the Vtica Observer^ some time 
in 1844: — 

" Died, at Paris Hill, the 7th inst,, after a distressing iiluess of four 
days, EDW.4RD Scovill, Esq., aged 54. He was the youngest son of 
the late Darius Scovill, who removed with his family from Watertown, 
Q., to this place, in 1803, then almost a wilderness. The deceased 
having been a resident of Paris for forty-one years, had cultivated an 
extensive acquaintance in this section of our country, with its social, 
political, and religious history ; and in his social relation thereto, he 
was remarkable for his diffidence in adopting hasty decisions on the 
apparent merits or demerits of principles and topics affecting any of 
these subjects ; and also for his firm adherence to them when adopted. 
In the relations of husband, parent, neighbor, and friend, he was kind, 
afiectionate, obliging, firm, and enduring ; a zealous supporter of good 
order and gospel institutions." 

By tlie census of 1845, this town had 3.097 inbaTbitant 
six grist mills, and seven saw mills. 



304 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. fcilAT. 



CHAPTEK XVIII. 

REMSEN. 

This town forms the north-east corner of Oneida Countyr 
this angle extending further north than any other portion 
of the county. It is located on the summit between Lake 
Ontario and the valley of the Mohawk at Utica. The 
Black River passes through it near its centre, in a north- 
west course towards Lake Ontario at Sacketts Harbor. The 
north bounds of the town cross Moose River, an important 
branch of the Black River. West Canada Creek, the larg- 
est tributary of the Mohawk, forms the eastern boundary of 
the town, where it is the dividing line between Oneida and 
Herkimer Counties. The smaller streams that rise in the 
town flow into both the Black River and Canada Creek. 
The numerous falls and rapids in these two streams show 
that the altitude of Remsen is very great. Like all higli 
sections of country, its soil is better adapted to pasturage 
than tillage. With the exception of oats, which produce 
quite well, there is but little grain raised, yet small quanti- 
ties of corn, barley, and buckwheat, arc cultivated. 

Geology. — The geology of the town differs but little 
/rom the other high sections of the county. The southern 
pi irt of the town rests on a bed of limestone, excellent for 
eeL ^ent when burnt, and for cutting for building and other 
pur^ ':»oses. In the section north of the Black River, primitive 



"XVIII. ] UEMSEN. 305 

rock bowlders, a species of granite, abound. Some speci- 
mens of iron ore have been discovered in its north-east part, 
and it is believed by many that future research will show 
tliat it abounds in that quarter of the town. 

This town was named from Henry Ee^nisen, late of the 
vifcy of New York, one of the original patentees of Remsen- 
burgh Patent, which was located mostly within the present 
limits of Remsen. Considerable portions of a number of 
the old patents were embraced in it, viz.: — Adgate's eastern 
tract, Woodhull's (being about eight miles square), Remsen- 
burgh, and a small part of Service's. In territory it is a 
very large town, and although Verona by some is claimed to 
be the largest, still future surveys may give the precedence 
to Remsen. 

Until recently the northern lialf of the town was little 
known, and with but very few permanent settlers ; but since 
the commencement of the Black River Canal and feeder, 
this part of the town has risen in importance. The canal 
feeder dam, nine miles above Boonville, is in this town, and 
as the canal is now completed to Boonville, a market is 
opened for the vast amount of lumber standing on these 
lands. Capitalists can not fail of investing the necessary 
amount to render it available, by bringing into use the 
almost unlimited water power with which the country 
abounds. Another reason why this section of the country 
has remained dormant is, that much of the land has been 
kept out of market, A better state of things in this respect 
now prevails ; the land is put for sale, and this will soon 
add so materially to its population, that it probably will 
soon be divided, so as to make a new town in the north part, 
including the Woodhull Tract. 

The settlement of this town was commenced in 1792. 
Barnabas Mitchell, from Meriden, Connecticut, was the oclv 

20 



306 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

settler in that year. The whole region was then a howling 
wilderness, and we can hardly conceive at the present day of 
the amount of moral courage necessary to induce a settler to 
thus locate himself and family so far from the dwellings of 
his fellow men.. Hardships they experienced, but hope 
buoyed them up. He located about five miles north-east of 
the present village. In 1793 our pioneer was cheered with 
quite a reinforcement to the settlement. In this year John 
Bonner. Nathaniel Eockwood, Bettis. Leelerc, Perez Farr. 
and Jonah Dayton moved into the present limits of Bern- 
sen. These first settlers are now all dead, and their hard- 
ships, privations, and trials are unwritten. Indeed, nearly 
all the early settlers have paid the debt of nature, and their 
posterity, some of whom are now on the down hill of life, 
iia many instances occupy their places. Milo Mitchell, Esq.. 
a son of the first settler, seems to have inherited at least u 
portion of his father's enterprise, industry, and perseverance, 
for he is the largest farmer in Bemsen. 

The first death in the town was that of Capt. Peck, but 
the date of his decease is not kpown. The first birth wa* 
that of Polly Mitchell, daughter of the first emigrant. 

The early settlers of this town were from the Eastern 
States; but about the year 1808, David Mound, John 
J'ames, Grriffith I. Jones, John Owens, and Hugh Hughe;, 
fresh from- the mountains of Wales, located in Bemsen 
This commenced a new era in its population. The reports 
of these early foreign emigrants to their friends in AYales. 
of the cheapness and fitness for dairying of the lands in 
this section has induced these Ancient Britons to emigrate 
in such numbers, that competent residents of the town 
believe that at least three-fourths, of its population are 
Welsh. It i.s said that Bemsen, Steuben. Trenton, and por- 
tions of Deerfield. Marey. and Boonville, arc almost aiS well 



XVin] REMSEN. 307 

known in Wales as in Oneida County. These descendants 
of the ancient Cambrians form a hardy, industrious, frugal, 
and of course thriving population. Their butter dairies, 
for which they are far famed, are carried on to great perfec- 
tion, producing an article rivalling the products of old 
Dutchess. They are a moral and religious people. The 
statistics of crime in Grreat Britain show that, in an equal 
population, but one Welshman to ten Englishmen and fifteen 
Irishmen are convicted, and it is confidently believed that 
the records of Oneida show that here this people have not 
degenerated. The author's probity as an historian, and the 
portions of English and Irish blood that course in his veins, 
he believes to be suflicient to incite to impartiality, still he 
hopes to be pardoned if he speaks a little enthusiastically of 
a people from whom he is in a direct line descended. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

These are all Welsh, and divided into four denominations, 
viz.: — Episcopal Methodists^ Wliitfield Methodists, Presby- 
terians, and Baptists. The Whitfield MetJiodists are the 
most numerous. There are ten houses for public worship in 
the town. Although the Welsh are somewhat noted for 
dividing into small societies, still as they are remarkable for 
their strict attendance at church, these several houses are 
well filled, and preaching well supported. They are exact 
as regards their religious discipline, and as a people they 
are Calvinistic in their doctrines. A Welsh Catholic would 
be an anomaly, and they are peculiar in their hatred of all 
that appertains to Popery. It is quite well ascertained that 
this people have furnished, but . one Catholic in Oneida 



308 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

County. They are almost a nation of singers, and in this 
part of public worship nearly the entire congregation join. 
In general their voices are harsh, but probably this is more 
from want of cultivation than any native defect, as some who 
have cultivated their voices are superior. They excel in 
harmony, discords rarely occurring. 

Schools. — The schools in this town have heretofore been 
well attended and flourishing. The eifects of the free school 
law of the last year (1849) have been most deleteriouis ; 
schools are on the decline, and in some districts there are 
now no schools. This is but common with all the agricul- 
tural and rural districts in the county. This state of things 
should be a warning to future legislatures, never to assume, 
unasked and unexpectedly, to legislate on important ques- 
tions, where the great body of the people are interested. 

Reynsen Y'dlagc. — This is the only village in the town, 
and was incorporated in 1845. It is situated in the south- 
west corner of the town, including a small piece of Trenton 
within the bounds of the corporation. The Cincinnatus Creek 
passes directly through it, and towards the lower part of tlie 
village the creek falls about twenty-five feet nearly perpen- 
dicularly, which vastly adds to its capacity for turning mach- 
inery. 

The settlement of the village was commenced in 1795, by 
James Smith, deceased, who opened a public house in the 
place. The building he prepared for the accommodation of 
travellers, was composed in part of boards and part of logs. 
This public house thus constructed was continued for several 
years. Broughton White, Esq., now one of tlie oldest citizens 
of the town, opened the first store, in 1803, and a store has 
been continued on the same spot to the present time. Esq. 



XVUI.j REMSEN. 309 

"White was a surveyor, and for some years was a member of 
Baron Steuben's family, while the Baron was engaged in 
settling his patent in Steuben. • 

There are at this time in tlie village two taverns, five 
stores, an extensive tannery, for many years conducted by 
Mather Beecher, Esq., and now by Hale & Colback, three 
saw mills, and most of the mechanic shops found in country 
villages. There are three commodious houses for public 
worship within the village, one Baptist^ one Congregation- 
fi/isi, and one Whitfidd Methodist ; and there is an Aca- 
demy, in which, on the first of January, 1850, there were 
fifty-six students in attendance ; also a common and infant 
school. The plank road from Utica to Boonville passes 
through the village. 

This place was formerly conspicuous for its intemperance, 
and the means i-t furnished to its own and the neighboring 
inhabitants. A respectable merchant, who has now banished 
alcoholic drinks froin his store, informed the author that at 
one time he retailed 3.500 gallons of whisky in five months. 
He said. — " Such was the press that we did not stop to 
measure, for when a customer brought a keg, we inquired 
its capacity, placed it under the tap, and filled it, rolled it 
away, and under with another." " Yes," said a partner, whd 
was sitting by, " and we did not make one penny by all this 
liquor traffic, for at the same time we were retailing goods on 
credit, and with our strong drink we sent out among our 
(;ustomers such a flood of bankruptcy, ruin, and death, that 
in the end we lost more than we made by it." The tem- 
perance reform has performed wonders for Bemsen. Her 
inhabitants in this have developed one of their true Welsh 
traits. — perseverance. They less rarely break their pledge 
than any other people. Comparatively very little alcohol is 
now used as a beverage 



310 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

There is a Kechabite Tent in the place, numbering over 
100 members, and they are making sober men of the intem- 
perate. The innkeepers are not licensed to sell strong drink. 

The village numbers about five hundred inhabitants, and 
there are few in the county of its size where more business 
i.s transacted. 

There are in the town twelve saw mills, two grist mill? 
(one worked by steam), seven mercantile houses, besides 
groceries, three physicians, and three lawyers. 

The first town meeting was held in 1798, and the follow- 
ing is a list of the Supervisors elected, and the number of 
years each has served : — 

Epliraim Hollister 1 year. 

Oershom Hinckley 10" 

Broughton White 11 " 

James Slieldon - - - - - -- 2" 

Zalmon Root 2'- 

Lutlier Conkling - - - - - - 2 ■' 

Lemuel lloiigh -..--. .3 ■' 

Henry R. Sheldon 6 ' = 

Mather Beecher - 4 •' 

Evan Owen.s - 5" 

Tliomas R. White ------ 1 •■' 

Obadiah J. Owens 1 ' 

Griffith 0. Griffiths 1 " 

Andrew Billings 1" 

William H. Thomas 2 " 

Evan Jones 1" 



The following obituary is from the Utica Dailij Gazette 
of June 9, 1851: — 

Died, at Remsen, on the first inst., Mr. John G. Jones, aged G8 
years. 



XVni.] KEMSEN. 311 

Mr. Jones was one of the oldest and most respectable inhabitants 
of his town, and was very highly esteemed by a large circle of ac- 
<:[uaintanccs. He resided in this vicinity about fifty years, and accu- 
mulated great wealth. lie was followed to his resting-place by 
about 500 of his old friends, and no less Mian 110 carr-'ages acd wap,- 
gons being in the procession. 



312 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNT V. [cirAP. 



CHAPTER XIX, 



ROME. 



Tui.s town presents a i-icher field for the historian than 
any other town in the county. At a point within its limits. 
the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, while of sufficient size 
fur batteau navigation, approach within a mile and a half of 
each other. The intervening ground is low, and covered 
with a deep alluvial deposit, from which it may be inferred 
that far back in the history' of our globe, during freshett-. 
their waters commingled, and still farther back, when the 
barrier of Fall Hill was unbroken, the valleys of the Mo- 
hawk and Wood Creek were covered with a lake, extending 
westward from that barrier some sixty or seventy miles, and 
including the Oneida Lake. The cobble stone on the dry 
plain upon which the village of Rome is built, give evidence 
of having been rounded and smoothed by the action of 
water. 

The importance of this "carrying 2)lace," or, as called by 
the good Dutch inhabitants lower down in the Moliawk 
valley, " Trow Plat," was early appreciated. The Indian 
name for this portage was De-o-wain-sta ; i. c, the place 
where canoes are carried across from one stream to another. 

The first mention of it that has been found in any written 
document, was in a petition of the New York city mer- 
chants to the assembly in 1724. At this time France and 
r>ritain were at peace, and the French Indian traders had 



xrx.] ROME. 313 

taken advantage of the times, by making their purchases fur 
the trade in that city. Of this our provincial Indian traders 
complained to the assembly, stating that it gave the French 
traders the advantage, by enabling the latter to undersell 
them on account of their easier water communication by way 
of Lake Champlain, and the passage of a law was procured, 
forbidding the New York merchants to sell goods for the 
Indian trade to the French. Against this law the New 
York merchants in turn complained, and in their memorial 
to the Assembly set forth, that "from Albany the English 
traders commonly carry their goods sixteen miles overland 
to the Mohawk at Schenectady, the charge of which is nine 
shillings (New York money) each waggon load. From 
Schenectadj'' they carr}' them in canoes up the Mohawk 
liiver, to the carrying place between the Mohawk and the 
river that runs into the Oneida Lake, which carrying placi; 
between is only three miles, except in very dry weather, 
when they are obliged to carry them two miles further. 
From tlience they go down with the current the Onondaga 
Uiver to Catarcui [Ontario] Lake." 

In 1 726, the English sent a party of 100 men to take 
])03session of OsAvego, for the purpose of securing it as a 
place of trade, and the next year the fortifying that post 
commenced, under the direction of the Colonial Governor 
Burnet. 

At what time the first fortification was erected at the 
" carrying place," is uncertain. The necessity for a fort at 
this point was first set forth in the petition .of a number of 
Indian traders to the Assembly, in October, 1736, in which 
they asked the erection of a fort at the " carrying place, at 
the upper end of the Mohawk River." 

There is a tradition that two forts had been destroyed at 
this place previously to the erection of Fort Stanwix, — the 



314 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CJIAP. 

lirst by flood, the second by fire. If this be true, the first 
must have been a very -flight afi"air, and -probably built 
nearer the Mohavi'k than Fort Stanwix. Still there are ac- 
counts which locate a fort (not finished) at that period upon 
the portage between Forts Williams and Bull, and at this 
day it is impossible to clear up the matter, unless light shall 
be thrown upon the subject from the archives of some of the 
European Governments. Indications of a work located near 
the Mohawk were observed by the early inhabitants. The 
second fort was undoubtedly Fort Williams, which was de- 
iitroyed by G-en. Webb in 1756, as hereafter stated. The 
author has been unable to ascertain when this second fort 
was built. Its location was doubtless on the same ground 
afterwards covered by Fort Stanwix, for when that work was 
levelled a few years since, ruins were discovered which had 
the appearance of having belonged to an anterior work. 

Two and a half miles west from Fort StanwLx stood Fort 
Bull, and which was probably erected a short time previous 
to the French war of 1756, as, when t<iken by the French, it 
l)ore the name of its commandant. It was customary at that 
period for officers who had superintended the erection of 
fcrts upon the frontiers, to be honored by having them named 
after themselves, and from this fact the inference is drawn, 
that the same ofiicer who built Fort Bull commanded it 
when taken, as hereafter, related. The fort stood on the 
north bank of Wood Creek, where the ground was so low, 
that a dem across the- creek just below, threv/the water into, 
and filled the .ditch quite around it, thus easily forming a 
moat which rendered' the fort difiicult of access. 

The following is copied from the Documentary History 
of tlve. State 'of Neio York, audi is the first authentic- ac- 
count of Forts Bull and Williams: — 



XIX.] ROME. 315 

'CAPTURE OF FORT BULL. — By M. De Lery. 
"Paris Document, XIL 

" On the 27th of March, 1756, at four o'clock in the 
morning, the detachments commanded by M. De Lery, 
lieutenant of the colonial troops, commenced their march, 
very much weakened by the fatigue they experienced during 
fifteen days since they left Montreal, for they were two days 
entirely out of provisions. At half past five they arrived at 
the road to the carrying place, and the scouts in advance 
brought in two Englishmen, who were coming from the fort 
nearest to -Chouaguin [Oswego], whom M. De Lery caused 
to be informed that he should have their brains knocked out 
by the Indians if he perceived that they endeavored to con- 
ceal the truth, and if they communicated it to him, he should 
use all -his efforts to extricate them from their hands. 

'' These prisoners stated that the fort this side Chouaguin 
■was called Bull, having a garrison of sixty soldiers, com- 
manded by a lieutenant ; that there was in this fort a con- 
siderable quantity of munitions of war and provisions ; that 
the foi't was constructed of heavy pickets, fifteen to eighteen 
feet above ground, doubled inside to a man's height, and was 
nearly of the shape of a star ; that it had no cannon, but a 
number of grenades, which Colonel Johnson had sent on 
intelligence being communicated to him by the Indians of 
our march ; that the commandant of the fort was called 
Bull ; that fifteen batteaux were to leave in the evening for 
Chouaguin ; that at the moment sleighs were arriving with 
nine batteau loads ; that the fort on the Corlear [Mohawk] 
side, at the head of the carrying place, was of much larger 
>piekets, and well planked, having four pieces of cannon, and 



310 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

a garrison of 150 men, commanded by Captain Williams, 
whose name the fort bore ; and that they did not know if 
there were any provisions in the fort, not having been in it. 

"At 10 o'clock the savages captured ten men, who were 
conducting the sleighs, loaded with provisions. These con- 
lii'med what the prisoners had stated, and added that 100 
men had arrived at 8 o'clock on the preceding evening, wht- 
were said to be followed by a large force. 

'• Monsieur De Lery, whilst occupying himself in distri- 
buting among the detachment the provisions found in the 
sleighs, was informed that a negro, who had accompanied the 
loads, had escaped, taking the road to Fort Williams ; where- 
upon, not doubting but they would have intimation of him 
at that fort, he acquainted M. De Montigny, his second, of 
his determination to attack Fort Bull, the prisoners having 
assured him that the greater part of the provisions and 
stores were there. Each officer received immediate orders 
to form his brigade ; and M. De Lery told the savages that 
he was about to attack the Bull, but they represented to 
him that now they had provisions to carry the detachment to 
La Presentation [Ogdensburg], — English meat that the Mas- 
ter of life had bestowed on them, without costing a man, — 
to risk another aifair would be to go contrary to His will ; 
if he desired absolutely to perish, he was master of his 
Frenchmen. The commander replied that he did not wish 
to expose them, and asked them only for two Indians tc^ 
guide his expedition, which they with difficulty granted. 
Some twenty determined afterwards to follow him, being 
encouraged by some drams of brandy. The Algonquins. 
Nipissings. and those Iroquois who were unwilling to follow 
him, accepted the proposition made by M. De Lery, to 
guard the road and the twelve prisoners. They assured the 
commander that he may make the attack : they vrould take 



"XIX.] ROME. 3 1 7 

possession of the road, and watch the movements of the 
English at Fort Williams. 

" The detachment having commenced their march along 
the high road, the soldiers having their bayonets fixed, M. 
De Lery gave orders, when within fifteen acres of the fort, 
to move straight forward without firing a shot, and seize the 
guard on entering the fort. He was still five acres off when 
lie heard the whoop of the savages, notwithstanding the 
prohibition he had issued. He instantly ordered an advance 
double quick, in order to carry the gate of the fort, but the 
enemy had time to close it. Six Indians only followed the 
French, the others pursued six Englishmen, wlio, unable to 
reach the fort, threw themselves into the bush. M. De Lery 
set some to cut down the gate, and caused the commandant 
to be summoned to surrender, promising quarter to him and 
all his garrison, to which he only answered by a fire of mus- 
ketry, and by throwing a quantity of grenades. Our soldier.s 
and Canadians, who ran full speed the moment the Indians 
whooped, got possession of the port holes ; through these 
tliey fired on such of the English as they could get a sight 
of Great efforts were made to batter down the gate, which 
was finally cut in pieces in about an hour. Then the whole 
<letachment, with a cry of Vive h Roi, rushed into the fort, 
and put every one to the sword they could lay hands on. 
One woman and a few soldiers were fortunate enough to 
escape the fury of our troops. Some pretend that only one 
prisoner was made during this action.* 



* 'Except five persons, they put cverj' soul they found to the 
sword." — A Faithful Narrative of the Dangers, Sufferings, and De- 
liverance of Robert Eastburn, and his Captivity among the Indians 
of North America. Annual Register, Vol. I. Anno 1758. 

This Eastburn was taken prisoner by the French on this occasion, 
and removed to a town called Oswegatchy. 



318 AN'XALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. [CHA?. 

" The commandant and officers repaired to the stores, and 
caused their men to use diligence in throwing the barrels of 
powder into the river, but one of the magazines having 
cauglit fire, and M. De Lery considering that he could not 
extinguish it without incurring the risk of having the people 
blown up who would be employed there, gave orders to retire 
as quick as possible. There was hardly time to do this, 
when the fire communicated to the powder, which blew up 
at three points. The explosion was so violent, that a soldier 
of Guyenne. and an Iroquois of the Sault, were wounded b;, 
the debris of the fort, though they were already at a distance 
The Indian especially is in danger of losing his life by the 
wound. 

'• A detachment was, however, sent to look after the bag- 
gage that remained on the road, and shortly after an Indian 
came to notify M. De Lery that the English were making a 
sortie. This caused him to rally his forces, and placing him- 
self on the bank of the creek, he had the bombs, grenades, 
bullets, and all the ammunition that could be found, thrown 
notwithstanding into the water. He Lad the fifteen batteau.x 
staved in, and then set out to meet the sortie of which he 
had been informed; but he learned on the road that the 
Indians had repulsed it, after having killed seventeen men. 
This sortie was from Fjrt Williams, on the intelligence 
carried thither by the negro. The Indians who, unwilling 
to attack Fort Bull, took charge of the road, acquitted them- 
selves so well, that this detachment quickly retreated, with a 
loss of seventeen men. The Indians, coming some hours 
after to congratulate M. De Lery on his fortunate success, 
failed not to make the most of their advantage. A chief 
asked him if he proposed attacking the other fort ; which 
was nothing more than a boast on his part. M. De Lery 
replied he would proceed forthwith if the Indians would 



XIX.] ROME. 319 

follow him. This reply drove this chief oflf, and all those of 
his party prepared to follow. Our troops did the same, and 
encamped in the wood, three quarters of a league from the 
fort. The Fort Bull prisoners were examined, and we 
learned that Col. Johnson, having been informed of our 
march, had sent notice to all the posts, regarding it, how- 
ever, as impossible, in consequence of the rigor of the season. 
Fort Bull is situate near a small creek that falls into that ot 
Ohouaguin, about four miles-from. the fort. Fort Williams 
is near the river Mohawk, w-iiich falls into that of Corlear. 
The carrying place from one. fort to the other is about four 
miles long, over a pretty level countrj^ though swampy in 
some places. 

•• M. De Lery's detachment was, 15 offieers, 2 cadets, and 
10 soldiers of the Queen's Kegiment^ 17 of Guyenne's-. 22 of 
Beam's, 27 of the Colony, in all 93 soldiers ; 166 Canadians. 
33 Iroquois from the lake of Two Mountains, 33 from La 
Presentation, 18 from Sault St. Louis, 3 from St. Bigin, 3. 
Abenakies of Missiskoui, 2 Algonquins, and 1 1 Nipissings 
Total, 362 men, 265 of whom attacked the Fort. A soldier 
from the Colony, and an Indian from La Presentation, were 
killed. A soldier of the Queen's, two Canadians, and two 
Iroquois, were wounded. It is estimated that more than 
40.000 weight of powder was burned or thrown into the 
creek, with a number of bombs, grenades, and balls of differ- 
ent calibre. A great deal of salted provisions, bread, butter," 
chocolate, sugar, and other provisions, were likewise thrown 
into the water. The stores were filled « with clothes and 
other effects, which were pillaged ; the remainder burnt. 
This day has cost the English ninety men, of whom thirty 
are prisoners. Our detachment killed or captured thirty 
horses." » 

Thus far has the writer followed verbatim the French^ 



320 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr, 

account. On the retreat of the party, they fell ©n their 
knees, and returned thanks to God for their victory. After 
the second night, they made a very hasty retreat for fear of 
General Johnson (Sir William) who they learned was in 
pursuit, and they suffered almost as much from famine on 
their return as on their advance, by reason of their not being 
able to carry on their backs a sufficiency to last them to their 
.<tores at Lake Ontario. 

It might have been hoped, for the honor of human nature, 
and the French in particular, that the account of this mas- 
sacre, — for by no other name can it be called, — was ex- 
aggerated ; but it is so well authenticated by the English 
accounts published at the time in the JVeiv York Mercury^ 
that it can not be doubted, although tlie numbers probably 
are over-estimated. Of the slain, fifteen resided in and near 
Albany. 

On the 11th of August, 1756, Count Frontinac com- 
menced the siege of Oswego, with an army of 3,000 regulars, 
Canadians, and Indians. On the 14th of the same month, 
the commander. Col. Mercer, having been killed, Lieut-Col. 
Littlehales, who as senior officer had taken the command, 
surrendered the place to the French. 

In a note to the foregoing article in relation to the taking 
of Fort Bull, is the following : — " The latter [Fort Wil- 
liams] stood until 1756, when it was destroyed by General 
Webb, on his famous flight from Wood Creek, immediately 
after the fall of Oswego." 

Smith, in his Colonial Illstm-y of JVeto York, says tiiat, 
after the loss of Oswego, " Gen. Webb, who was then posted 
at the Oneida carrying place, was in such consternation that 
he ordered trees to be felled in Wood Creek, to obstruct the 
progress'^bf the enemy if they should attempt to penetrate 
that way, and the Earl (of Loudon), in equal terror at, 



XIX.] ROME. 321 

Albany pushed on Sir Wm. Johnson with the militia to 
.sustain Webb, and ordered large drafts to follow from Albany 
and Ulster, and importuned even the southern colonies for 
recruits." Subsequently the same author says: — "The dis- 
asters of the campaigns of 1756-7 were followed by a quarrt-l 
between several of the army officers, in which mutual recri- 
minations took place, one party charging that the loss of 
(jrerman Flats" (destroyed by a force of French and Indians, 
Nov. 12, 1757) "was a consequence of the destruction of 
Fort Williams by Gen. Webb, while that officer, to lighten 
the burden of imputations under which he rested, averred 
that he destroyed the fort in pursuance of- positive orders 
from Earl Loudon." 

The worst consequences were anticipated from the aban- 
donment of the territory adjacent and the destruction of 
Fort Williams, and one of these is mentioned in a commu- 
nication of Sir William Jolmson to the Board of Trade at 
London, dated June 18, 1757, in which he says: — ■' 'Tis 
probable our destroying the works at. and abandoning the 
Oneida carrying place last summer," (Sir William at the 
time of its destruction was at the German Flats, with a 
force of militia and Indians.) " may produce a neutrality 
from the Oneidas and Tuscaroras." 

In a description, or " itinerary," of the country from 
Oswego to Albany, by a secret agent of the French, in 1757, 
the following relating to Forts Bull and Williams is found: 

'•Fort Bull, which was burnt in 175C> by a detachment 
tinder the orders of M. Be Lery, was situated on the right 
bank of this river," (river Vilcrick, or river of the Killed 
Fish, or Fish Creek, as it was then called, now Wood Creek.) 
'' near its source on the height of land. # * * From 
Fort Bull to Fort Williams is estimated to be one league 
and a quarter. This is the carrying place across the height 

21 



S22 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAP 

of land. The Englisli had constructed a road there, over 
which all the carriages passed. They were obliged to bridge 
a portion of it, extending from Fort Bull to a small stream, 
near which a fort had been begun, though not finished, it 
was to be intermediate between the two forts, having been 
located precisely on the summit level. * * * Fort 
"Williams was situated on the right bank of the river Mo- 
hawk, or des Agnies, near the rise of that river on the height 
of land. It was abandoned and destroyed by the English 
after the capture of Chouegen'" (Oswego). 

From the character of Gen. Webb as here given, the 
reader may very well conjecture that this hero of Wood 
Creek was the same Gen. Webb who so supinely and in- 
gloriously lay at Fort Edward on the Hudson, with a large 
force, without making one effort to relieve Col. Monroe, and 
his brave garrison of 3,000 men. who were besieged by the 
French and Indians in Fort William Henry, on Lake 
George. Col. Monroe and his army were consequently 
compelled to surrender to superior numbers, when a large 
portion of his men were massacred by the savages, with very 
little exertion on the part of the French to restrain them. 

In the month of August, 1758, after the defeat of the 
British army under Gen. Abercrombie, before Ticonderoga, 
an expedition under Gen. Bradstreet, for the taking of 
J'ort Froutenac (now Kingston), in Canada, was planned and 
successfully executed. The following passage in relation to 
Gen. Webb is from Col. Willetfs narrative of the expedi- 
tion: — 

'• Col. Bradstreet was well qualified for the enterprise, 
the success of which depended very much on the celerity of 
his movements. The troops passed down Wood Creek with 
all the expedition in their power, though they were greatly 
impeded by the lowness of the water, and obstructions oeca- 



xix.] HOME. 323 

sioned by trees, which the year before had been felled across 
the creek by order of Gen. Webb, after the loss of Fort 
William Henry, a measure xohich savored more of timidity 
than skill.''' 

Smith, in his history, says that after the destruction of 
Frontenac, Col. Bradstreet " returned to the carrying place 
between the Mohawk and Wood Creek, to assist in securing 
that important pass in the country of the Oneidas, which 
Gen. Webb had so ingloriously left to the great insecurity 
and intimidation of the Six Nations ; " and that, owing to 
their great fatigue, or the bad quality of the water of Wood 
Creek, five hundred of Col. Bradstreet's men. mostly of this 
colony, died upon or near the carrying place. 

Up to the close of 1757, disaster had followed disaster to 
the English arms. Gen. Braddock had been defeated near 
Du Quesne, Gen. William Johnson had failed in an attempt 
to reduce Crown Point, and Oswego was in the hands of the 
enemy, leaving the colonies almost at the mercy of the 
French and savage foe. 

The commencement of 1758 found William Pitt, Earl of 
Chatham, at the head of the British ministry. His in- 
domitable spirit was soon infused into every department of 
the government, and every officer and agent was taught that 
seeming impossibilities were to be overcome by energy and 
skill. 

The importance of fortifying anew the carrying place at 
the head of the Mohawk, was soon discovered, and early in 
the year, Fort Stanwix* was erected by an English General 
of that name, at an expense of £60.000 sterling. It was a 

* In the Revolutionary War an attempt was made to change the 
name from Stanwix to Schuyler, from the then detestation of every 
thing British, which has caused some confusion in the histories and 
maps of the time, as well as in histories and works of fiction of a 



324 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAr. 

square fort, constructed on the most true and approved scien- 
tific principles of military engineering, having four bastions, 
surrounded by a broad ditch, 18 feet in depth, with a covert 
way and glacis. In the centre of the ditch was a row of per- 
pendicular pickets, and a horizontal row upon the ramparts. 
Smith, in enumerating the events of 1758, says that '• the 
operations terminated in the north-west in the construction 
of a respectable Fort in the country of the Oneidas, and it 
was called Stanwix, in compliment to the General who com- 
manded in that quarter ; " and in November of that year 
Lieut.-Gov. Delancy congratulated the New York Assembly 
upon the reduction of Louisburg, the erection of Fort Stan- 
wix, and Col. Bradstreet's success at Frontenac, thus, by 
coupling it with other great events, showing the importance 
attached to the fortification of this celebrated portage, then 
tar in the Indian territory. Smith continues : — " The suc- 
cesses of 1759 infused a new zeal into the acting men of the 
colony. One hundred men more were posted in a small 
fort at the little falls of the Onondaga, and as many more at 
the western extremity of the Oneida Lake (Fort Brewerton), 
fifteen at the eastern end, and four hundred at Fort Stan- 
wix. A road was cut from that fortress, eighteen miles 
across the portage, to the mouth of the Wood Creek, to 
shorten the passage by that stream, which is more than 
double that distance. It was then asserted that the plain of 
the waters of Wood Creek and the Mohawk River, at each 
end of that carrying place, difi"ered but two feet, which, if 
true, may one day give a supply of salmon and many other 
kinds of fish to the inhabitants upon the borders of the 
latter of these streams." 

later period. In this work the author ha.s used but the original 
name, and in Col. Willctt's narrative it is not once called Fort 
Schuyler. 



XIX.] ROME. 325 

Very little more, however, can be gleaned respecting Fort 
Stanwix during the remainder of the " old French War." 

The force commanded by Col. Bradstreet, and whicli 
marched against Frontenae (now Kingston), left Lake- 
George early in August, and proceeded to Albany, and 
from thence ascending the Mohawk, rendezvoused at Fort 
Stanwix, consisted of the following troops: — regulars, 135: 
royal artillery, 30; New York provincials, 1,112; Massa- 
chusetts do., 675 ; New Jersey do., 412; Rhode Island do.. 
318; batteaii-men, 300; and about 60 rangers; in all. 
3,035. The regulars were commanded by Capt. Ogilvio. 
and the artillery by Lieut. Brown. The New York troop;^ 
consisted of two detachments : the first, commanded by Lieut. - 
Col. Charles Clinton, of Ulster, amounted to 440 men, under 
Captains Ogden, of "Westchester, Peter Dubois, of New York. 
Sam. Bladgely, of Dutchess, and Daniel Wright, of Queens : 
the second was commanded by Lieut.-Col. Isaac Corse, ol" 
Queens, and Major Nathaniel Woodhull, of Suffolk, and 
amounted to 068 men, under Captains Elias Hand, of Suf- 
folk, Ilichard Hewlet, of Queens, Thomas Arrowsmith, of 
Bichmond, Wm. Humphrey, of Dutchess, Ebenezer Seeley. 
of Ulster, and Peter Yates and Goosen Van Schaik, of 
Albany. The troops left Fort Stanwix the 14th of August. 
and thence down Wood Creek through Oneida Lake tC' 
Oswego, down Lake Ontario, and across the St. Lawrence 
in open boats, and arrived and landed within a mile of Fron- 
tenae on the 25th. Col. Corse, who had distinguished him- 
self the three preceding campaigns, volunteered with a part 
of his detachment to erect a battery, in the night of the 
26th, in the midst of the enemy's fire, and which in the 
morning commanded their fort, and led to an immediate 
surrender. The commander of the fort was afterwards 
exchanged for Col. Peter Schuyler, who was taken at Os- 



326 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COJTKTY. [CHAP. 

wego, and wliile a prisoner had rendered much service to the 
English prisoners in Canada. The detachment, after burn- 
ing the magazines, and an immense stock of Indian goods, 
and destroying the vessels on the lake, returned to fort 
Stanwix on the 10th of September. In November, the 
French garrison of Fort Du Quesne abandoned and burnt the 
fortress. 

In 1759 Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara, and Quebec, 
were taken by the British. Under the walls of the latter 
place a hardly contested battle was fought on the 13th ot 
September, in which the brave Gen. James Wolfe, the com- 
mander of the British, and Gen. Montcalm, the master-spirit 
of the French in Canada, lost their lives. In 1760 the 
remainder of Canada was subdued, and became annexed to 
Britain. 

This state of things rendered Fort Stanwix comparatively 
of little consequence, and it was suffered to go to decay. In 
this year John Roof and a Mi". Brodock, from the Dutch 
settlements lower down in the valley of the Mohawk, were 
found residing at the " Traw Plat," in the vicinity of Fort 
Stanwix, where they gained a livelihood in assisting in the 
transportation of goods destined for the Indian trade, across 
the carrying place ; trading with the Indians ; and, one of 
them at least, in keeping a tavern for the accommodation of 
the few wayfarers who, in those early days, came to these 
western wilds. All that the author has been able to glean 
respecting these first settlers in Rome, is found in the fol- 
lowing obituary published in the Rome Sentinel: — 



" DiF.D, at his residence, in Canajoharie, Montgomery Conntj', on 
the 2d inst. [Oct. 1847] after a short illnes.s, Col. Joh.v Roor, aged 80 
years. John Roof, father of the suhject of this notice, was one of the 
first settlers at Fort Stanwix (now Rome), where he located himself 
as an innkeeper and trader with the Indians, as early as 1700. The 



rvix.] F.OME. 327 

•deceased was born at that military post, August 28, 1761, soon after 
".vhich event, and when an infant, t-ir William Johnson, with many ol' 
the most influential whites of the Mohawk valley, met the chiefs of 
the Iroquois at that place, to brighten the chain of friendship, and 
bury the Avar hatchet, the French and Indian war having then just 
terminated. Gen. Herkimer, a guest present, stood as god-father 
when the deceased was christened. He was on militia duty in the 
Revolution repeatedly (his father being a captain of militia), and to 
him were well known Col. Brown, who fell gloriously at Stone 
Arabia, and his own god-father, whoso blood watered the fields of 
Oriskany ; indeed, he was present at the death of the latter, and 
was a witness to his patient resignation. He was a colonel of militia 
subsequent to the Revolution. Temperate in his habits, and honest 
in his dealings, he lias gone down to the grave full of years. Truly 
the great poet did not err when he said : — 

" An honest man is the noblest work of God." 



Messrs. Roof and Brodoek held no title to their lands, 
but occupied them under a contract from Oliver Delaney, 
one of the proprietors of the Orlskany Patent, who was in 
the Revolution attainted of treason, as an adherent of the 
<enemy, he having acted as Genei'al of a brigade of tories. 
They left that place at some period early in the revolution- 
ary contest, but the precise time has not been ascertained. 

In the spring of 1776, Colonels Van Schaiek and Dayton 
were sent to Ti-yon County with detachments of continental 
troops, and were stationed at Johnstown and German Flats. 
in the month of June in tho same year, Gen. Schuyler 
suggested the propriety of taking immediate possession of 
Fort Stanwix, and fortifying it more strongly, which propo- 
sition was highly approved, and Gen. Schuyler the same 
month ordered Col. Dayton, who was stationed at the Ger- 
man Flats, to take post at Fort Stanwix, and repair the 
works. In August, Gen. Schuyler visited the post in per- 
son, but was soon called away upon duties relating to the 
Canada expedition. Col. Dayton, perhaps for the want of 



3^-28 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

means, accomplished very Mttle in repairing and strengthen- 
ing the place. It was at this time that the attempt -was- 
made to change the name to that of ^Schuyler. About the 
clo.se of this year, Gen. Schuyler was again instructed to 
strengthen the works at Fort Stanwis. 

The last of April, 1777, Col. Peter Gansevoort, with the 
third regiment of the New York line was ordered to this 
post. Col. Marinus Willett, of the same regiment, was the 
second in Gommaud. The repairs to the fort were still un- 
finished, and the early part erf the summer was spent in 
placing the fortification in a situation for resistance, but it 
had not been completed when afterward invested. 

Previous to the year 1777, Gen. Burgoyne had boasted 
that with an army of 10,000 men he could march through 
the thirteen confederated colonies, and in this year he had 
such an army placed at his disposal. The plan matured by 
the British cabinet, was for Burgoyne to pass from Montreal 
to Lake Champlain, and from thence force his way tC' 
Albany, and there co-operate with Gen. Clinton, the com- 
mander of the British forces in the city of New York, in 
establishing a chain of posts from Canada to that city, so as- 
entirely to sever New England from the middle and south- 
ern colonies. This plan, so imposing on paper, and which, if 
curried out, would have been sO' disastrous to> the- sons of 
liberty, fighting for independence, was doon:<ed to be one of 
the most complete and perfect failures experienced by the 
British during the whole contest. In furtherance of the 
plan, Burgoyne dispatched Col. Barr}^ St. Leger, with the- 
60th regiment of foot, 200 strong, and a regiment of loyal- 
ists (tories), and sueli Indian foi-ee as he could call together 
on his route, to proceed up Lake Ontario to €)«wego, thence- 
up the Oswego and Oneida Rivers, across Oneida Lake and/ 
up Wood Creek to Fort Stanwix. ta invest and take tha*i 



XIX.] ROME. 329 

post, and then pass down the Mohawk and join his General 
at Albany. 

As early as the third of July, it became apparent to the 
garrison of Fort Stanwix, that hostile Indians were prowling 
about the fort. The following extract of a letter from Col. 
Gansevoort to Col. Van Schaick, dated July 28, will show- 
one of the earliest of those tragedies which crimsoned the 
frontiers of New York : — 

"Dear Sir, — Yesterday, at three o'clock in the afternoon. 
our garrison was alarmed at the firing of four guns. A 
])arty of men was instantly dispatched to the place wliere 
the guns were fired, which was in the edge of the woods, 
about five hundred yards from the fort, but they were too 
late. The villains were fled, after having shot three girls 
who were out picking raspberries, two of whom were lying 
scalped and tomahawked ; one dead, the other expiring, who 
died in about half an hour after she was brought home. 
The third had two balls through her shoulder, but made out 
to make her escape ; her wounds are not thought dangerous. 
By the best discoveries we have made, there were four 
Indians who perpetrated these murders. I had four men 
with arms just passed that place, but those mercenaries of 
Britain came not to fight, but to lie in wait to murder ; and 
it is equally the same to them, if they can get a scalp, 
wliether it is from a soldier or an innocent babe." 

One of the girls who was killed was the daughter of a man 
who had served many years in the British artillery, and had 
been stationed as one of the guard at this place for several 
year.?. As he was considerably advanced in life and infirm, he 
had received a discharge, with a recommendation to Chelsea 
hospital ; but as he had been indulged while here with the 



330 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAF. 

privilege of cultivating a piece of ground, and the use of a 
small house for himself and family, he preferred to remain 
where he was, instead of returning to his native country, 
and to enjoy the benefits to which his services entitled him. 

A short time previous to the investment of the fort, the 
following singular incident occurred. It was written out by 
Dr. Dwight in a different form, and published with an 
account of his travels into this section, and front thence 
copied, under the title of " Faithful American Dog,"' into the 
•• American Preceptor," one of the early reading books for 
scliool.s published in the country. The author has, however, 
copied it from Dr. Thatcher's Military Journal. 

•' Capt. Greig went with two* of his soldiers into the woods 
n short distance to shoot pigeons ; a party of Indians started 
suddenly from concealment in the bushes, shot them all down, 
tomahawked and scalped them, and left them for dead. The 
captain, after some time, revived, and perceiving his men 
were killed, himself robbed of his scalp, and suffering ex- 
treme agony from his numerous wounds, made an effort to 
move, and lay his bleeding head on one of the dead bodie.«, 
expecting soon to expire. A faithful dog, who accompanied 
him, manifested great agitation, and in the tenderest manner 
licked his wounds, which afforded him great relief from ex- 
quisite distress. He then directed the dog, as if a human 
being, to go in search of some person to come to his relief. 
The animal, with every appearance of anxiety, ran about a 
mile, when he met with two men fishing in the river, and 
endeavored, in the most moving manner, by whining find 
piteous cries, to prevail on them to follow him into the 
woods. Struck witli the singular conduct of the dog, they 



* Willett's Narrative states that but a corporjvl attcn«leiJ the 
captain. 



xrx] ROME. 331 

were induced to follow him part of the way, but fearing 
some decoy or danger, they were about to return, when the 
dog, fixing his eyes on them, renewed his entreaties by his 
cries, and taking hold of their clothes with his teeth, pre- 
vailed on them to follow him to the fatal spot. Such was the 
remarkable fidelity and sagacity of this animal. Oapt. 
Greig was immediately carried to the fort, where his wounds 
were dressed ; he was afterward removed to our ho.spital 
[Albany], and put under my care. He was a most frightful 
spectacle, the whole of his scalp removed; in two. places on 
the forepart of his head, the tomahawk had penetrated 
through the scull ; there was a wound on his back with the 
same instrument, besides a wound in his side and another 
through his arm with a musket ball. This unfortunate man, 
after suftering extremely for a long time, finally recovered, 
and appeared to be well satisfied in having his scalp restored 
to him, though uncovered with hair." 

In Cren. Sullivan's campaign against the Seneca Indians, 
in 1779, Kay-ing-waur-to, a chief, was killed, and upon his 
person was found a paper, of which the following is a copy : 

" This may certify that Kay-ing-waur-to, the Sanakc 
[Seneca] chief, has been on an expedition to Fort Stanwix, 
and has taken two scalps, one from an officer and a corpora > 
that were gunning near the fort, for which I promise to pay 
at sight ten dollars for each scalp. 

" John Butler, 
" Col. and Supt. of the Six Nations and 
the allies of his Majesty. 
" Given under my hand at 
Bucks Island." 

These were undoubtedly the scalps of Capt. Greig and 



332 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP 

one of Lis men. It having been asserted in Congress after 
the war, that there was no evidence that Great Britain 
authorised the payment of money for scalps, this paper 
(among many other evidences) was produced. 

At this period there was a general feeling of alarm and 
excitement throughout the country, particularly in the State 
of New York. These were increased in the valley of the 
Mohawk, when, on the 15th of July, Thomas, one of the 
principal Oneida sachems, who had just returned from 
Canada, where he had been present at an Indian council, 
gave a " talk," from which the following extracts are made. 

After giving an account of the force marching against 
Fort Stanwix, he said : — 

" Brothers, — I, therefore, desire you to be spirited, and to 
encourage one another to march on in assistance of Fort 
Stanwix. Come up, and show yourselves men, to defend 
and save your country, before it is too late. Despatch your- 
selves to clear the brush about the fort, and send a party to 
cut trees in "Wood Creek to stop the same. 

'•Brothers, — If you don't come soon, without delay, to 
a,ssist this place, we cannot stay much longer on your side ; 
for if you leave this fort without succor, and the enemy shall 
get possession thereof, we shall suffer like you in your settle- 
ments, and shall be destroyed with you." 

After much more advice, he closed with the following 
sentence : 

'• You may depend on it we are willing to help you, if you 
will do some efforts too." 

After Col. Gansevoort assumed the command, the repairs 
to the fort proceeded in earnest, but as ill luck would have 
it. a French engineer had been employed for the work, who 



XIX.] ROME. 333 

was wholly incompetent. Instead of repairing the works 
after the manner of their original construction, which would 
have been comparatively easy, he sent out large parties to 
the swamp to cut logs for pickets, and which when brought 
to the fort, he began to erect in the covert way, and not in 
the centre of the ditch as formerly. After these pickets had 
been brought to the fort with so much labor, each was found 
seven feet longer than required, being seventeen feet, instead 
of ten. For this blunder. Col. Willett advised his immediate 
discharge, but as he had been appointed by Gen. Schuyler, 
Commandant of the Northern Department, Col. Gansevoort 
'vvas reluctant to take the step. Another blunder of this 
engineer, was the erection of a building for barracks outside 
the fort, and which could be of no possible use in the event 
of a siege, and the result proved it worse than useless, for 
after the investment, it was set on fire by the British, which 
occasioned considerable inconvenience to the garrison. The 
third in the chapter of blunders was the erection of a salient 
angle to cover the gate, so constructed, that the port-holes in 
the pickets did not correspond with the embrasures of the 
fort. Col. Willett early discovered this error, but suflfered 
the engineer to proceed until it would be plainly perceptible 
to all. The lack of skill on the part of the engineer had 
now become so apparent that he was arrested by Col. Willett, 
by order of Col. Gansevoort, but was permitted to depart to 
Jiead-quarters, a letter being sent at the same time informing 
Gen. Schuyler of the cause of his arrest. This step was not 
taken until some time in July. Thus being without any one 
to act as engineer, greater diligence than ever was necessai-y 
to put the fort in a proper state of defence, and officers and 
men now exerted themselves to their utmost. By the first 
day of August, the wall around the fort was repaired ; the 
parapets nearly raised ; embrasures made on three of the 



334 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT [cHAP 

bastions ; horizontal pickets fixed around the walls, and per- 
pendicular pickets around the covert way, and the gate and 
the bridge made secure. The garrison had but just finished 
laying the horizontal pickets, but none of the parapets were 
completed, when the enemy appeared before the fort. The 
parapets had, therefore, to be finished in the presence of the 
enemy, and thus being exposed, several of the men were 
killed by their rifles. The engineer had neglected to con- 
struct a magazine, although he well knew that there was no 
secure place for the ammunition. Now the seven feet of 
spare timber cut from the pickets was turned to good ac- 
count. These pieces were framed together in a square form. 
])laced in the body of one of the bastions, and being covered 
with earth, formed a safe powder magazine. 

The garrison was, however, quite deficient in two impor- 
tant articles for sustaining a siege, — ammunition and pro- 
visions. 

On the 30th of July a letter was received at the fort from 
Thomas Spencer,* dated " Oneida, July 29," from which the 
following extracts are made : — 

'• At a meeting of the chiefs to-day, they tell me tiiat 
there is but four days remaining of the time set for the 
king's troops to come to Fort Stanwix, and that they think 
likely they will be here sooner. * * * 

'• The chiefs desire the commanding officers at Fort Stan- 
wix not to make a Ticonderoga of it. f * * * 

* The source from which this is derived does not state who 
Thomas Spencer is, but from the style, the author has no doubt but 
that he is the same as the Sachem Thomas who gave the " talk ' 
Just noticed. He was killed in the Oriskany battle, and was there 
called the "Indian Interpreter." 

t Referring to the abandonment of that place by Gen. St. Clair, 
just one month before. 



XIX.J ROME 335 

'• Let all the troops that come to Fort Stanwix take care 
ou their march, as there is a party of Indians to stop the 
road below the fort. * * * 

'• Send this to the committee ; as soon as thej receive it, 
let the militia rise up and come to Fort Stanwix. * * * 

'• This may be our last advice. * * * 

'• We send a belt of eight rows to confirm the truth of 
what we say." 

On the first of August an express arrived at the fort. 
with the thrice welcome intelligence that a number of bat- 
teaux. loaded with ammunition and provisions, guarded by a 
reinforcement of 200 men, were at hand. 

They arrived the next afternoon, and as the last batteau 
was unloading, the enemy made his appearance. 

Ou the third, St. Leger proceeded to invest the fort in 
form. His force was about 1,600 strong, regulars, tories, 
and Indians. The Indians, 1,000 in number, were com- 
manded by the semi-savage Brant, the master-spirit of the 
Six Nations. Col. Gansevoort's garrison, after the rein- 
forcement arrived as a guard to the batteaux, amounted 
to 700. or, as some accounts say, 750 men, regulars and 
militia. 

When the siege commenced, the garrison was without a 
flag. Military pride, indeed every sense of propriety, would 
not allow them to dispense with an appendage so proper to a 
beleaguered fortress." Necessity is the mother of invention."' 
Shirts were cut up to form the white stripes, bits of scarlet 
cloth were joined as an apology for the orange, and the blue 
ground for tlje stars was composed of a camlet cloak, fur- 
nished by Capt. Abraham Swartwout, of Poughkeepsie, an 
officer of the garrison. Drake, in his beautiful poem, Tke 
American Flag, says : — 



336 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

" When freedom from her mountain height, 
Unfurled her standard to the air, 
She tore the azure robe of night, 
And set the stars of glory there." 

The garrison of Fort Stanwix in their extremity were less 
poetical in their choice of materials for a standard, for they 
simply " tore the azure robe " of Capt. Swartwout. 

Even at this late date, Poughkeepsie claims the honor of 
having furnished the " true blue " for the flag of Fort Stan- 
wix. This, however, is but a secondhand claim on the part 
of Poughkeepsie, for this same camlet cloak was taken from 
a detachment of the British at Peekshill, by Col. Willett, 
in the spring of 1776. Col. Willett, at the same time, was 
In command of the third New York regiment, to which 
Capt. Swartwout belonged, and having routed the detach- 
ment and taken their baggage, no doubt the captain appro- 
priated the cloak to which after-events have attached so 
much of romance, as his share of the " spoils." Soon after 
the investment, a demand of surrender was made by the 
British commandant, and indignantly rejected by Colonel 
Gansevoort. 

The siege was commenced, and prosecuted with great ac- 
tivity, and three batteries were established on the brow of 
the steep bank between where the Baptist and Catholic 
churches now stand, two for artillery and one for mortars. 

At this time, it is somewhat difficult to ascertain with cer- 
tainty the point from which the approaches were made. Col. 
Stone, in his Life of Brant, has placed the zig-zag approaches 
and parallels north-westerly of the fort, whereas information 
received by the author many years since, from persons who 
belonged to the garrison at the time of the siege, placed the 
approaches from the bend of the river east of the fort It is 
very probable, that both accounts are correct, for it is not 



XIX,] ROME. 337 

uncommon for besieging armies to break ground in two or 
more places, to distract the besieged. The approaches from 
the bend of the river were represented as a covered way, 
and one of the author's informants was so particular as to 
state that they commenced near an apple tree, which is yet 
standing on the bank of t!ie river. The encampment of 
Johnson's regiment on the south side of the river, below the 
bend cast of the fort, seems to favor the idea of an approach 
from this side. 

St. Leger fixed his head-quarters at the upper landing on 
Wood Creek, which was about Jialf a mile west of the fort. 
He had also an encampment about half a mile north-east 
iVom the fort, in the ravine at the head of the Spring Brook. 
Sir John Johnson's camp was at the lower landing on the 
Mohawk ; while the Indians were encamped in the edge of 
the swamp, south-westerly from the fort. By this it will be 
!?een how perfect was the investment, each of the four en- 
campments being out of tiie reach of the guns of the fort, 
and still within relieving distance of each othei*. St. Leger 
had pushed his advances with such activity that, at the time 
of raising the siege, on the 22d of August, the approaches 
were almost to the ditch, and a mine in a state of forward- 
ness under one corner of the fort. 

The following rather bombastic proclamation of St. Leger 
is copied from an original manuscript, now in the possession 
of the Messrs. Sandfords, the editors and publishers of the 
Roman Citizen. They obtained it of Bernard F. Yates. 
who resides in the upper part of the town of Western. It 
is in a good state of preservation, is written in a very fair 
hand, and bears indubitable evidence, from its time-marked 
appearance and genuine signature.?, of being an original 
copy. 

It is reasonable to presume that a number of copies were 

22 



,>33 A^'^'ALS of oneida county. [chap, 

prepared and distributed by the loyalists in the Mohawk 
Valley. 



■By BARRY St. LEGER, Eaci-, 

■0.mw;!T«ler-in-Chirfof :i chosen Kody of Troopo from tbo (irinrt Anny.ne \n^l\ nt 
;iu e\t('ii>iv'e Cordis ul Imliaii Aliieb, t'luiu all thu Nulioii.i. &.C., &b. 



" The Forces entrusted to my command are designed to act ia 
concert, and upon a common principle, with the numerous Armies 
and Fleets which already display in ever}' quarter of America, the 
}>ower, the justice, and, when properly sought, the mercy of the 
King. 

" The cause in which the British Arms arc thus exerted, applies 
to the moat affecting interests of the human heart ; and the military 
servants of the Crown, at first called forth for the sole purpose of 
restoring the rights of the Constitution, now combine with love of 
their country, and duty to their Sovereign, the other cxtensiv.- 
incitements which spring from a due sense of the gt;neral privilege of 
mankind. To the eyes and cars of the temperate part of the pub- 
lic, and to the breasts of sufiering thousands in the Provinces, be 
the melancholy appeal, whether the present unnatural rebellion ha.'s 
not been made a foundation for the completest system of tyranny 
that ever God in his displeasure sufiered for a tisne to be exeri ised 
(>v<>r a Howard arid stubborn generation. 

■• Arbitrary imprisonment, confiscation of properly, persecution, 
iind torture, unprecedented in the Inquisitions of the Romish Ciiurch, 
are among the palpable enormities that sertify the aSirmative. 
These are inllicted by assemblies and committees, who dare to pro- 
less themselves friends to liberty, upon the most quiet subjects, with- 
out distinction of age or sex, for the sole crime, ofcen for the solo 
suspicion, of having adhered in principle to the Government under 
which they were born, and to which by every tye divine and human, 
they owe allegiance. To consummate these shocking proceedings, 
the profanation of religion is added to the most profligate prostitu- 
tion of common reason; the consciences of men are set at nought: 
■•(ud multitudes are compelled not only to bear arms, but also to 
swear subjection to an usurpation they abhor. 

•' Animated by these consideratiojis, at the head of troops in thu 



xrx ] E.OME. 339 

full powers of health, discipline, and valour j determined to striko 
where necessary, and anxious to spare where possible ; I, by these 
presents, invite and exhort all persons, in all places where the pro- 
p-ess of this army may point, — and, by the blessing of God, I will 
extend it, — to maintain such a conduct as may justify in protecting 
theii- lands, habitations, and families. The intentioa of this is to 
hold forth security, not depredation, to the country. 

'•To those whom spirit and principle may induce to partake the 
glorious task of redeeming; their countrymen from dungeons, ajid re- 
establish the blessings of legal government, I ofler enoouragemeni 
and employment, and upon tlie first intelligence of their associations, 
I will find means to assist their undertakings. The domestic, the 
industrious, the infirm,, and even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous 
to protect, provided they remain quietly at their houses, that they 
do not suffer their cattle to bo removed, nor their corn or forage to 
b>i secreted or destroyed, that they do not break up their bridges cr 
roads, nor by any other act, directly or indirectly, endeavour to ob- 
struct the operations of the King's troops, or supply or assist those 
of the enemy. 

" Every species of provision brought to my camp, will be paid for 
at an equitable rate, and in solid coin. 

'■ If, notwithataadiag these endeavours, and sincere inclinations to 
effiict fuera, the phrensy of hostility should remain, I trust I shall stand 
acquitted in the eyes of God and men in denouncing and executing 
tl'.e veiigesiQce of the State against ihe wilful outcasts. The Tnes- 
sengers of justice and of wrath await them in the field, and devas- 
tation, famine, and every concomitant horror that a reluctant, but 
indispensible, prosecution of military duty must occasion, v/ill bar 
tlio way to their return. Barry St. LEGEa. 

" Camp before Fort Stanwix, August ye 10th, 1777. 
■• By order of the Comraander-ia-Chi'.f 

" Will. Osd. ILvMrLTON, Secretary." 

Oq the back Qled — " St Leber's ManifestoV 

Near this time the following incident occurred, aa related 
by Jabez Spicer, who at the time was a soldier in the gar- 
rison, and since a United States' pensioner. He uap well 



340 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciTAP. 

known to some of the early settlers of Rome, and was by 
them considered entirely reliable. 

A sentinel, posted on the north-west bastion of the fort, 
was shot with a rifle while walking his stated rounds, in the 
gray of the morning ; the next morning a second met the 
same fate, on the same post : the crack of the rifle was 
heard, but from whence it came, none could conjecture, and 
the alarm being given, no enemy could be di8.covered. Of 
•course on the third night this station was dreaded as bring- 
ing certain death, and the soldier to whose lot it fell, quailed 
and hung back ; but to the surprise of the whole guard, a 
comrade offered to take his place, and was accepted. Towards 
morning, the substitute sentinel drove a stake into the ground 
at the spot where his predecessors had been shot, on whioli 
ho placed his hat and watch-coat, and with the help of a 
<!ord and a well-stuffed knapsack, he soon had a very good 
apology for a portly soldier, who stood to the life at "support 
arms," with his trusty shining musket. Having thus posted 
his not exactly " man of straw," he quietly sat down behind 
the parapet, closely watching, through an embrasure, for 
coming events. At early dawn the well-known report of 
the same rifle was heard, and the column of smoke ascending 
from the thick top of a black oak tree, some thirty or forty 
rods distant, showed the whereabouts of the marksman. The 
sergeant of the guard was soon on the spot, and the com- 
mandant notified that the perch of the sharpshooter had been 
discovered. A four-pounder was quickly loaded with can- 
ister and grape, and the sound of this morning gun boomed 
'•o'er hill and vale" in the distance, immediately succeeded 
by a shout from the garrison, as they beheld one of Britain's 
red allies tumbling head foremost from the tree top. On 
oxamining the counterfeit sentinel, the holes througli the 
various folds of the knapsack were more than circumstantial 



XIX. J ROME. 341 

evidence that the aim was most sure, and that had the owner 
stood in its place, he would have followed to his account 
those who had preceded. It is hardly necessary to add, that 
the sentinels on the north-west bastion were not afterwards 
molested. 

For a while we will leave this heroic garrison, and detail 
the prominent causes which led to the raising of the siege. 

On the 17th of July preceding, IJrig.-Gen. Nicholas Her- 
kimer issued the following proclamation, in what was then 
Tryon County: — 

'• Whereas, it appears certain that the enemy, of about 
2,000 strong. Christians and savages, are arrived at Oswego, 
with the intention to invade our frontiers, I think it proper 
and most necessary for the defence of our country, and it 
shall be ordered by me as soon as tlie enemy approaches. 
that every male person, being in health, from sixteen to 
sixty years of age, in this county, shall, as in duty bound, 
repair immediately, with arms and accoutrements, to the 
])lace to be appointed in my orders, and will then march to 
oppose the enemy with vigor, as true patriots, for the just 
defence of their country. And those that are above sixty 
years, or really unwell and incapable to march, shall then 
assemble, also armed, at the respective places where women 
and children will be gathered together, in order for defence 
against the enemy, if attacked, as much as lies in their 
power. But concerning the disaffected, and who will not 
directly obey such orders, they shall be taken, along with 
their arms, secured under guard, to join the main body. 
And as such an invasion regards every friend to the country 
in general, but of this county in particular, to show his zeal 
and well affected spirit in actual defence of the same, all the 
uaenibers of the committee, as well as all those who, by 



342 AITNALf or ONETDA COUNTY. [CKAF. 

former comro'iBsione or otherwise, have been exempted from 
any other military duty, are requested to repair also, when 
called, to such place as shall be appointed, and join to re- 
pulse our foes. Not doubting that the Alnaighty Power, 
upon our humble prayers and sincere trust in Him, will 
then graciously succor our arms in battle for our just cause, 
and victory can not fail on our side." 

The letter from Thomas Spencer received at Fort Stan- 
wis ou the 30th of July was, as it directed, forthwith sent 
to the committee of Tryon County, and means were imme- 
diately taken for the assembling of as many of the militia 
as possible. Their own firesides were to be invaded ; the 
time for exertion had come, a time which they ought to have 
anticipated, and for which, from the ample notice they had 
received, they ought to have made the best possible prepara- 
tion. They were determined, liowever, to atone for their 
neglect. The fears excited by their previous losses had con- 
siderably subsided, and Gen. Herkimer soon found himself 
at the head of 800 men, most of the committee being among 
the number, as officer:j or volunteers. 

They set forward in high spirits, and on the night of the 
5th of August encamped at what is now Oriskany, where 
the creek of that name unites with the Mohawk, little 
dreaming that to one-fourth of their number it was their lapt 
rest until the sleep which knows no waking. 

After he had encamped, Gen. Herkimer dispatched Adam 
Helmer to the fort, with letters to Col. Gansevoort, giving 
him notice of his arrival at Oriskany, and requesting hi.i 
aid, by a sally from the fort, on the arrival of the reinforce- 
ment ; also directing the tiring of three cannon in succession. 
as a signal that the messenger had succeeded in delivering 
the letters On the mornin? of the 6th, Gen. Herkknes 



XIX.] ROME. 343 

was of the opinion that it was not prudent to advance until 
reinforced, or at least until the signal should be given that -a 
tnrtie from the fort would be made, to divide the attention 
of the British. His officers, however, were of a different 
opinion, and were eager to press forward ; angry words en- 
.sued, in which his two colonels, and other officers, branded 
their commander as a " tory and a coward." The brave old 
man replied, " that he considered himself placed over them 
as a father, and that it was not his wish to lead them into 
any difficulty from which he could not extricate them : that, 
for himself, he had not the same reasons to be cautious and 
prudent as had many of his officers and men, — that Prov- 
idence had denied him children, and if he fell, no child 
would be left without a paternal protector ; but if they 
rashly ran into danger, and lost their lives, many would be 
the children in the Mohawk Valley who would be left father- 
less, and this at a time when Fort Stanwix and its little 
garrison would be all that would be left between the cruei 
savages, and more savage tories, and their firesides ; that he 
feared if his little band failed in relieving the fort, it would 
soon surrender, and tlien nothing could save tlieir homes 
from the firebrand, and their good wives and children from 
the tomahawk and scalping knife ; that, burning as they nov/ 
seemed to meet the enemy, they would run at his first ap- 
pearance."' The clamor, however, increased, with repeated 
reproaches of toryism and cowardice, until, stung to the 
quick and irritated, he gave the word — "March on.'' Ou 
receiving the command, the troops gave a shout, and in 
rather ^)c// meil order, rapidly moved forward. This stati* 
of things prevented the precaution of throwing out flanking 
parties, so necessai-y where a savage foe and ainbuscades 
■were to be anticipated. This was the more inexcusable, its 
the letter from Oneida had given them timely warning. 



31i ANNALS OV ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

St. Leger, having received notice of the approach of Gen. 
Herkimer, dispatched Col. Butler, with a large portion of 
his loyalist force, and Brant, with most of the Indians, t^ 
intercept him. Brant, not feeling entirely satisfied that the 
force detailed was sufficient to cope Avith Gen. Herkimer, 
;ind wishing to learn his numbers and order of march, dis- 
patched a scouting party of Indians to obtain, if possible, the 
tlesired information. For this purpose the party proceeded 
to a small stream about a mile west of Oriskany, where they 
secreted one of their number in a hole dug in procuring 
earth to cover a causeway in the ravine, and about thirty 
frtet from the road which Gen. Herkimer would take, cover- 
ing him from view with hemlock brush. Here, snugly en- 
sconsed, he correctly numbered Herkimer's command as it 
passed, and after the rear-guard had gone by, made a rapid 
movei;ient through the forest, and informed Brant of the 
exact strength of the party, and which was not as numerous 
as Brant had supposed. 

Brant and Butler had selected a place well fitted by nature 
f >r tlie attack. The road leading then from Oriskany to 
I'^ort Stanwix, was through an unbroken forest, and about 
two miles from the former, crossed the deep ravine, some 
thirty rods north of the present road to Rome. The bottom 
of the ravine was marshy, but a log causeway rendered it 
jnxssablo. The ambuscade commenced at the ravine, the 
enemy lying concealed on both sides of the road, for almost 
a mile above it. Gen. Herkimer, wlio rode a white horse, 
was in the advance with Coxe's regiment, and had crossed 
the smaller ravine some little distance above the one first 
laeutioned, and the whole column in open order, with the 
exception of the rear-guard, composed of Yischer's regiment, 
had passed the causeway, when the Indian war-whoop waft 
given aa the signal of attack, and the murderous conflict 



XIX.] ROMK. 345 

cornuienceJ. The attack was geueral, and from every quar- 
ter. The Indians immediately closed up the opening at the 
(iauseway, severing the rear-guard from the main body, and 
thus situated, it broke and fled. They were pursued by the 
] udians, and no portion of the little army suffered as severely, 
and it is believed they would have suffered less had they 
manfully cut their way to the main body. On receiving the 
first fire, Gen. Herkimer ordered Col. Cox to wheel his 
ri)giment into line, in the road, and this was attempted, but 
the lire from the unseen foe was so severe, that soon every 
man took to a tree. It now became a contest of individual 
IbatvS of noble courage and daring. Soon after the com- 
niftiiQement of the action. Gen. Ilerkimei", who still remained 
with the advanced regiment, received a ball about six inches 
below the knee, which shattered the bone, and also killed the 
horse on which he rode. Ills saddle was taken from the 
])ro8trate steed, and placed by the side of the trunk of a 
fallen tree, where the brave old General, reclining against 
the tree, continued to issue his orders. For a considerable 
time there was much confusion and disorder, but this was 
followed by the discovery that concert of action was neces- 
sary for an effective defence, and soon tolerable order was 
restored, and the men formed in circles, the better to repel 
tlio attacks of the enemy, who were now closing in upon 
them on all sides. In a great measure the firing had ceased, 
but the work of death was progressing with the tomahawk, 
the bayonet, the knife, and clubbed musket, and resistance 
became effective. At this juncture a heavy shower of rain 
arose, which arrested the fight for more than an hour, and 
this gave Herkimer's men an opportunity to organize still 
more perfectly. A circle was formed around the wounded 
General, and it became necessary to place two men to a tree 
instead of one, with orders for but one to fire at a time. 



?'4'3 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUJTTY. rcil\l'. 

This was to counteract the tactics of the Iiidiaus, who, 
v.-henever they saw a musket discharged from behind a tree, 
ran up and tomahawked its owner before he had time to 
reload. After the rain had subsided, the £ght was renewed 
with still deadlier ardor, and the advantages of the new ar- 
rangement were soon seen, for the life of many a tawny son 
of the foi'est paid the forfeit of his temerity in rushing In- 
hind a tree where there was still a loaded musket. It soon 
became apparent, from their flagging efforts, that the Indiant* 
were becoming sick of the fight, and hope began to animate 
the Americans. At this point the enemy were reinforcod 
by a detachment of •' Johnson's Greens," led by Maj. Stephen 
Watt, a brother-in-law of Col. John Johnson. The regiment 
of which it was a part was raised by Col. Johnson in Canada, 
but a large portion of the men were refugees from the Mo- 
hawk Valley. The blood of the Dutchmen boiled at the 
sight of these tories, for they were, in many instances, per- 
gonal acquaintances, who had fled their country, and were 
now returned as enemies, and a mutual recognition took 
place. Revenge and hate doubly nerved the arms of Her- 
kimer's men, and they fired upon them, and then springing 
from their covers, attacked them with bayonets, and when 
these were wanting, with the butts of their muskets; or 
throttling each other, and drawing their knives, stabbing, 
.•iiid frequently dying in each other's embrace. In this la.'^t 
assault. Col. Cox was killed. He possessed a during spirit, 
and mingled in the thickest of the fight, and his voice could 
be heard cheering on his men, above the clashing of arms 
ur the yells of the savages. This murderous conflict con- 
tinued for half an hour, in which Major Watt was wounded 
.and taken prisoner, but left on the field. ■ Col. Willetta 
narrative states that this officer was slain, but in this wa« 
Incorrect. He was left, as was supposed, mortally wounded. 



■!C1X.] ROME. 84' 

but after tho battle ho crawled to a stream of water, and 
elaked his thirst, and this was his only nourishment for two 
days, when he was found alive by some Indian scouts, and 
brought into St. Leger's camp. A heavy firing in the direc- 
tion of Fort Stanwix leading the British to believe that 
their presence was more needed in that quarter, the retreat 
was sounded, and nothing loth, they withdrew, leaving the 
Tryou County militia the honor of retaining the battle 
Held. It was, however, purchased at a fearful price : two 
hundred Americans, one-fourth of their original number, 
were either dead on the field, or too severely wounded to be 
removed. Col Cox, and Majors Ersinlord, Klcpsattle, and 
Van Slyck, Avere among the slain, with Thomas Spencer, the 
Indian interpreter. "Without burying the dead, with such 
wounded as could be removed, the shattered remains of this 
gallant band retraced their way to old Fort Schuyler, the 
present site of Utica, where they ei^camped for the night,, 
and on the next day many of the men reached their homes. 
Tryon County was literally filled with mourning. Tlicre 
was scarcely a family in the Mohawk Valley but what had 
lost some relative, a father, brother, or cousin.* 

Few battles liave been fought at a greater disadvantage, 
than was that of Oriskany to the Americans. On the first 
attack, their baggage and ammunition waggons fell into tho 
hands of the enemy, and their cartridge boxes therefore con- 
tained their all of ammunition ; the day was warm, and sur- 
rounded as they were, no water could be procured ; under 
■A\ these disadvantages, they defended themselves for six 



* Jud^e Gray, of Uerkimer, now one of the Judges of the Siipr.."me 
Court of this State, informed the author tliat liis grandfather, two 
itdcles, and other more distant relatives, were killed in the baltk-. 
Another uncle, Lieut. Samuel Gray, was in the battle, but cs^caped 
Luhurt. and assisted 1)1 carrying- Qen. Herkimer from the field. 



Sis ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

long hours. They had acted rashly in moving forward as 
they did in the morning, but by their unyielding courage 
they M'ell retrieved their reputation. Notwithstanding the 
disadvantages under which the battle was fought, the enemy 
were cau.sed to suifer equally with themselves. The loyal- 
ists and Indians each lost in killed about 100, besides many 
wounded. The Seneca Indians were placed by Brant in and 
near the ravine, and fifteen of their chiefs fell in that part 
of the field. 

In an address before the New York Historical Society, 
(rovorneur Morris said : — '• Let me recal, gentlemen, to your 
roeolleetion, the bloody spot where Herkimer fell. There 
was found the Indian and the white man, born on the banks 
of tlie Mohawk, their left hand clenched in each other's 
hair, the right grasping in the grasp of death the knife, 
plunged in each other's bosoms ; thus they lay frowning." 

Although the struggle at the time was so nearly balanced, 
yet in its results, it was to the Americans a victory achieved 
The spirit of the Six Nations was in a great measure broken, 
and although scattered bands of them committed their de- 
pixidations and cruelties, they never afterwards would make 
stand for a field fight. 

J. R. Simms, Esq., in his "History of Schoharie County, 
and Border Wars of New York," has recorded a great num- 
ber of personal incidents, and feats of courage and prowess. 
(in many cases taken from the relations of the actors.) con- 
nected with Indian and tory irruptions upon tlie Mohawk, 
and from among which the author has selected the following 
relating to the Oriskany battle: — 

After the Indians had mostly left upon hearing the firing 
at Fort Stanwix during the sortie of Col. Willett, Capt. 
John James Davis remarked to Isaac Covenhoven, a soldier 



XIX ] R.OME. 30 

Btanding near, that he " believed the red devils had pretty 
much all left them." " I don't know," said C, " there may 
be some of them lurking about yet " These words were 
scarcely uttered before Capt. Davis, a brave and meritorious 
officer, fell mortally wounded, a bullet from the rifle of an 
Indian having passed through his lungs. 

Oapt. Jacob Gardinier, of the Tryon County militia, was 
distinguished for his bravery and personal acts during this 
terrible conflict. " With a few of his men, he vanquished a 
whole platoon, killing the captain thereof, after he had held 
him for a long time by his collar, as a shield against the 
balls and bayonets of the whole platoon. The brave militia 
captain lived many years, and was cured of thirteen wounds. 
After being literally riddled by bullets and bayonets, Capt. 
(jrardinier crept into a cavity at the roots of a fallen tree, 
and continued the fight. He had with him a Grerman lad 
as a waiter, who then became very useful, bringing to his 
nxaster guns of the fallen, loading such as were not loaded, 
etc. Me was so wounded that he could neither stand nor 
load his own gun, and yet from his place of temporai-y safety 
he did no little execution. Observing an Indian stealthily 
dodgiug from tree to tree to get a shot at an American 
officer, upon whom he had brought his rifle several times 
with partial aim, Capt. G. shot him, and sent his Higk 
IhitcJi hoy^ as he called him, to get his gun. The lad 
returned with a report that the Indian was not dead, hut 
was kicking^ as he had fallen across a log with his feet up, 
and was probably in his death struggle. After a few min- 
utes, the boy was sent again, and soon returned with all the 
Indian possessed, save his carcase." 

Capt. Gardinier was a blacksmith previously to the war, 
and had in his employ a man named Henry Thompson, a 
native of New Jersey, who " was a tall, lank-looking follow^ 



SoO AN-NALs Of Gneida coot;ty. [ohaf 

iw odd iis lie was ungainly. He was in the Oriskaoy battle, 
ae a private under Lis employer, and after the conflict had 
lasted some time, and groans and death were rendered 
familiar, he approached the captain, and told him he was 
hnngrv. ' Fight away^ said the intrepid officer. ' / can^t, 
iiiithovt eating^ said Thompson. ' Then go and get a pieced 
was the replj'. He did so ; sat down in the midst of tho 
hattle, on the body of a dead soldier, and ate heartily, while 
the bullets were cutting the air around his head like hail- 
stones. Having finished his repast, he arose, and fought 
with renewed energy, appeixring in the thickest of the fight. 
Such an evidence of cool bravery to gratify hunger, I be- 
lieve was never excelled, if before equalled." 

Samuel Gardiuiei*, a brother of the captain, received two 
balls from opposite directions, evidently from fowling pieces, 
ind which met in his side, just above the groin. After the 
balls were extracted, he recovered, and the balls are still 
kept as sacred relics by his descendants. 

In the heat of the battle, a little aside from the main 
body, William Merckley, of Stone Arabia, was shot by an 
Indian, and mortally wounded. Valentine Fralick, a neigh- 
bor, seeing him fall, came to him, and kindly ofiered to 
assist him. " Take care of yourself, and leave me to my 
fate," was the wounded man's reply. Several Indiana ap- 
proaching at this moment, Fralick concealed himself under 
a fallen tree, and shortly after, going to the spot, he found 
that his friend had been tomahawked and scalped. Giving 
the body a temporary burial, he returned to the American 
camp on the battle field. 

" After the battle of Oriskany, a song, commemorative of 
the event, was composed, and for a long time sung in the 
MoLawk Valley, of which She fcllowitig is a stanaa: — 



xrx] EOKB. 351 

" Brave Herkimer, our General, is «3ead, 

And Colonel Cox is slain ; 
And many more and valiant men, 

We ne'er shall see again." 

As has been stated, Gen. Herkimer was wounded early in 
the battle, yet he continued to give his orders with coolnesa 
.-ind promptness until the enemy withdrew. At one time, 
while the battle was raging fiercely around him, not forget- 
ting his Dutch habit, he deliberately took his tinder box 
from his pocket, and with his pocket knife and a flint arrow 
Lead, carried for the purpose, he lit his pipe, and smoked 
with great composure. After the battle, he was removed ou 
a litter to his house, two miles belovtr the Little Falls. In a 
few days amputation became necessary, but through want 
of skill in the operator, the arteries were not properly se- 
cured.* His attendants, the night following, were cautioned 
to keep a close watch, to sec that the wound did not bleed, 
and if it did, to give immediate notice ; but the bottle of 
spirits, which was formerly thought to be indispensable in 
the sick room, v/as too powerful for the nerves of the watch- 
er,s. and they all went to sleep, and when they awoke they 
f jund the wound bleeding profusely. The alarm was given, 
but It was too late, the loss of blood had been such that he 
could not be saved. The General himself now becoming 
aatiijdcd that but few more of the sands of life were left to 
run, called for his Bible, and very composedly selected one 
of the Psalms most appropriate to his case, which he read 
with great fervor, soon after which the hero who had thus 
fched hid blood for his country — now the Christian hero — 

* Col. WiHott called to see the General scon after the operation, 
and found him sitting ia bed smoking his pipe, and conversing in fine 
spirits. Early the next morning he learned that the General had di&d 
Hi the nigiit having bled to death. — WiUtlt's Nar;-ative. 



352 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [c:}!AP 

calmly and composedly resigned his spirit to Him who 
gave it. 

Thus one of the most valuable lives iu his county waa 
lost for lack of scientific skill in the operator, and the effects 
of alcohol on the attendants.* 

Since writing the foregoing, the author accidentally dis- 
covered the following letter iu a number of The Folilical 
Atlas, published in StockbridgGj Massachusetts, in June. 
1807. The facts and incidents related are singular aiid 
iuteresting. 

'• Schenectady, June 8. 1807. 

" Ou Thursday, the Jth inst., iibout four mile.s from the city nf 
Schenectady, aside of the Mohawk turnpike, sitting under c tree. I 
discovered Petrus Groot, who was supposed to have been slain in 
Uie Oriskany battle, under Gen. Herkimer, on the Gtli of August, 
in the year 1777. 1 immediately recognized liim, and on conversing 
with him, he confessed himself to be the person I took liim to be. 
I then carried him to the nearest tavern, where I left him to be sent 
to his children and brothers, from whence, however, he departed 
before day the next morning, and was seen in Albany on Friday. 
His mental faculties are much impaired, supposed to have been 
occasioned by a wound of a tomahawk near the fore part of his 
head, though he is at most times tolerably rational. His head is 
l)ald, the circle or scar of the scalping knife is i)lainly to be seen on 
it, as also a stab on the side of liis neck, near the shoulder, and a 
small sear near the ancle. * * * He speaks English, French, 
Dutch, and Indian, and says he has been last a pri.soner among the 



* The jiuilicr has mado jircat exertion to iib'.ain ihc ajjn of Gen. Herkiinc!- at tJic 
fime i.f liin deiiUi. Even >iiu;t; lliu luiiitcr li::;l cuiijiiiciiccd lliis cliiiijler, linniiih si 
irieiid wc litwc ciLnmuiiic-.i vA v;illi a iK:pht'W of the Cicueiiil, by Iho iv.\.m.<- (.if Hct* 
kiiner. njsuiiiii; ;U Kocktoii, IIojUihht Oiuiily. Tlio iiuplujw i.i eiiiiiuJy uiMliie, 
h'ora any menus in liis piis--e^siun, to give the desired infoimuiion, but .«tal(;ij iis Im.s 
l>elief, thai bis uncle at the lime tif bis death was but about lorlj-livc years «.f aite. 
Tlie author had supposed ibat be «as cunsiJerably fiirlbcr ndt;!iiccd ii. life, atd 
here ILe qucsti'.yn restB, perhaps jiever to be solved. 



XIX.J ROME. 353 

Indians, north of Quebec. Had on an old dark gray coat, old brown- 
ish pantaloons, and has a large pack with him. lie refused to go 
home, as one of his former neighbors whom he saw would not recog- 
nize him, he was fearful his children and brothers would not. He 
said he would go to the Governor's. Being at times deranged, it is 
feared he will stray away too far for his friends to find him. He is 
<jf a very respectable family and connection. 

" The printers in this and neighboring Statps are requested to 
give this a few insertions in their papers, to aid in restoring a poor 
tiuflerer to his children and friends, who has been thirty years a 
prisoner among the Indians. He is now sixty- live years of age. Ho 
was a Lieutenant in tlic militia at the time he was supposed to have 
Leon slain. John Sanders." 

But to return to the fort. After experiencing many de- 
lays and encountering many difficulties, Adam Ilelmer — 
\Yho, It will be recollected, was dispatched by Gen. Her- 
kimer from Oriskauy — succeeded in getting into Fort Stau- 
wirc and delivering his message at about 1 o'clock P. M., 
or, as other accounts say, 10 or 11 A. ^I. The signal guns 
were fired, but whether they were heard by Gen. Herkim.er 
or his men, is not known. Col. Gansevoort immediately de- 
tailed 200 men, with a field piece, under Col. Willett, his 
f^econd in command, to make a sally, and cause a diversion 
in favor of Herkimer, for the firing had been heard from the 
"flattie field, and the uncommon bustle in the tory and Indian 
«'amps led Col. Gan.sevoort to very correctly appreciate the 
posture of affairs. Just as the detachment under Col. 
Willett was about to leave the fort, the shower previously 
•mentioned came on, which caused a delay. Fifty men, witli 
a light three-pounder on a travelling carriage, having been 
added to Col. Wlllett's party, and the rain having ceased, at 
about two o'clock the sortie was made. Col. Willett proceed- 
ing directly to the tory camp. Such was the impetuosity of 
■diiclr laovements, that Sir John Johnson's regiment souglit 

9?. 



G5'l ANNALS OF ONEIDA COl'NTr. [cjIIAP 

safety in flight. Willett then marched to the Indian camp, 
which was forced with equal celerity. 

The Americans captured the entire camp equipage, cloth- 
ing, blankets, stores, etc.. of tlie two camps, and the baggage 
and papers of most of the ofiicers. 

There were in the fort seven teams of horses and waggons. 
and theae were now dispatched for the plunder taken in the 
enemies' camps, and they passed to and from them three 
times each, twenty-one loads in all. The storming party 
having accomplished their work, now made a move to ro- 
tTirn. when it was found that St. Leger was making an 
attempt to intercept them. A sharp fire from the party, 
aided by the cannon on the fort, caused him to desist, and 
the Americans arrived safely in the fort, without the loss of 
a single man. Among the plunder were five British stand- 
ards, and these were immediately run up to flutter in the 
breeze beneath the stars and stripes. Within a few years 
past. Gen. Peter Gansevoort. of Albany, son of the com- 
mandant of Fort Stanwix, presented to an Independent 
Military Company of that city, a bra.ss drum taken in this 
sortie 

8t. Leger, though in eflect defeated, resolved not to regard 
tiie events of the day in that light, but to use them even to 
aid him in obtaining the surrender of the fort. He com- 
pelled Col. Bellinger and Major Frey. who were now in his 
camp as prisoners, to address a letter to Col. Gansevoort, 
dated 9 o'clock in the evening, August 6th, exaggerating tjic 
disasters of the day, and strongly urging a surrender, telling 
him how strong were his besiegers, that no succor could 
reach him, and assuming that Burgoyne was already at 
Albany. After a verbal demand for a surrender, which 
was indignantly rejected on the ground that it was a breach 
of the etiquette always due from honorable belligerents to 



XIX.] ROME. 355 

send a verbal messsage for a surrender, St. Leger imme- 
diately followed it by a written one, to which Col. Ganse- 
voort sent the following laconic answer : — 

" Sir: — In answer to your letter of to-day's date, I hax'e only to 
say, that it is my determined resolution, with the forces under my 
command, to defend this fort, at every hazard, to the last extremity, 
in behalf of the United American States, who have placed me here 
to defend it against all their enemies. 
" I have the honor to be, Sir, 

" Your most obedient and humble servant, 

''Peter G.^nsevoort, Col., 

" Commanding Fort Stanwix." 

The only damage which the besieged had as yet received, 
was caused by the bursting of a few shells, killing a small 
number of the garrison, and slightly injuring the barracks, 
St. Leger's cannon being found altogether too light to make 
any impression on the walls of the fort. 

Gen. Schuyler, on hearing of the attack on Gen. Herki- 
mer, and its results, dispatched Gen. Arnold with Gen. 
Larned'a brigade to its relief, at the same time writing a 
letter to Col. Gansevoort, exhorting him to hold out to the 
last extremity, and encouraging him with flattering accounts 
of the prospects of staying the march of Burgoyne. On 
the 22d of August, Gen. Arnold, with about 900 light troops, 
arrived at Fort Dayton, which stood in the present village 
of Herkimer, where he halted, thinking it advisable not to 
proceed further until the arrival of reinforcements. He abo 
addressed a letter to Col. Gansevoort, urging him to suffer 
no apprehensions as to the result, for he knew the sti-ength 
of the enemy, and knew how to deal with them, stating 
that he had been retarded by the roads, etc , and that militia 
were now joining him in great numbers, etc. He also an 



356 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIUP. 

nounced to Col. Gansevoort the victory of Stark at Eenning- 
ton, and closes: — "Burgoyne, I hear this minute, is retreating 
to Ty. I make no doubt our army, which is near fifteen 
thousand strong, will cut off his retreat." 

The situation of the garrison, although not desperate, was 
becoming critical. If not relieved soon, the want of pro- 
vision would compel them either to surrender or cut their 
way through a superior force in the night time, and retreat 
to join Arnold at Fort Dayton. The latter alternative Col. 
Cansevoort had resolved to pursue when he should be re- 
duced to one or two days' rations. " Those who knew him 
best, knew how well he dared to execute his resolves." 

That nothing might be left undone. Col. Gransevoort 
thought it advisable to dispatch the brave Col. Willett and 
Lieut. Stoekwell* to apprise Gen. Schuyler of his situation, 
and urge him to send an adequate force to his relief We 
will accompany these two, and briefly relate the occurrences 
which followed, and which eventuated in the raising the 
siege. These officers left at 10 o'clock in the evening, on 
the 10th of August, creeping on their hands and knees 
through the enemy's lines, and adopting various arts of con- 
cealment on their way through swamps and pathless woods. 
From the manner in which they were obliged to make their 
egress from the fort, they could take no provisions witli 
them, except a few crackers and cheese. In pursuing their 
way on the north side of the Mohawk, they very opportunely 
came to a place where a hurricane had, a few years previously, 

* There is some difficulty at this time in ascertaining Stockwell's 
rank. In some accounts he is called Lieutenant, iu others Major. 
Even in Willctt's Narrative both titles are promiscuously used. The 
probability is, that in 1777 he was but a Lieutenant, but before the 
close of the war had been promoted to a Jlajority. Lieut. Stock- 
well had been selected on account of his peculiar fitness for such 
&n enterprise, as he was an excellent woodsman and hunter. 



XIX.j ROME. 357 

prostrated the trees of the forest, and these had been suc- 
ceeded bj a luxuriant growth of blackberry bushes, whose 
fruit was then ripe, and of which they made their only meal 
until they arrived at Fort Dayton.* On arriving there, they 
received a hearty welcome from Col. Weston, who was sta- 
tioned there with his regiment, and who gave them the 
agreeable intelligence that Gen. Larned had been ordered 
by Gen. Schuyler to march his brigade of Massachusetts 
troops to the relief of the fort. Resting but one night at 
Fort Dayton, Col. Willett and Lieut. Stoekwell started 
early the next morning, on horseback, to meet these troops, 
which they had the satisfaction of doing the sazne day at 
night. Gen. Larned informed them that Gen. Arnold, who 
was then at Albany, was to command the troops marching to 
the relief of the fort. Col. Willett the next day repaired to 
tliat city, where he learned from Gen. Arnold that the first 
New York regiment was on its march to join Larned's bri- 
gade. The next day Gen. Arnold and Col. Willett followed 
the troops up the Mohawk, and in two days arrived at Fort* 
Dayton. 

Arnold received information that there was to be a gather- 
ing of tories on a certain night at Shoemaker's, one of the 
king's Justices of the Peace, on the south side of the Mo- 
hawk, a few miles above, and Col. AVillett, who was at the 
time at Fort Dayton, was dispatched with a competent force 
to arrest them. Col. Willett and his party arrived and sur- 

* The "British Anmial Register," of 1777, thus sj^eaks of this 
enterprise : — " Col. Willett afterwards [after the sally] undertook, 
in company with another officer, a much more perilous expedition. 
They j)asscd by night through the besiegers' works, and in contempt 
of the danger and cruelty of the savages, made their way for fifty 
miles through pathless woods and unexplored morasses, in order to 
raise the country, and bring relief to the fort. Such an action de- 
mands c^'en the praise of an enemy.'' 



358 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIUP. 

rounded Shoemaker's in the night time, and made prisoners 
of the whole party, some tA^enty in number, and they were 
soon lodged in Fort Dayton. Among the number was 
Hanyost Schuyler, one of the coarsest and most ignorant 
specimens of humanity to be found in the valley, and yet a 
large share of shrewdness and low cunning were intei'woven 
in his character. He had been so notorious as a spy, that a 
drum-head court-martial, which was called the next day for 
his trial, found no difficulty in pronouncing him guilty, and 
he was sentenced to be hung the following morning. Capt. 
Hull was a member of this court martial, he who was the 
General Hull who so ingloriously surrendered Detroit in 
the war of 1812, and who was sentenced to death for his base 
conduct. 

The mother and brother of Hanyost resided at the Little 
Falls, who, having heard of his capture and sentence, lost 
no time in applying to Arnold to spare his life ; the Genei'al 
was, however, inexorable. Major Brooks, of Larned's bri- 
gade, perceiving the posture of afi'airs, and believing that 
some capital might be made out of the spy, went to Gen. 
Arnold and stated the scheme to him. Gen. Arnold, warned 
by the fate of Gen. Herkimer, and fearing his force insuf- 
ficient to raise the siege', the more readily agreed to resort to 
stratagem. The plan concocted was this : — Hanyost was to 
be suffered to escape from the guardhouse, and his life spared, 
on condition that he should repair to the Indian and tory 
camps in the vicinity of Fort Stanwix, and by an exagger- 
ated account of Arnold's force, induce them to desert their 
leader in sufficient numbers to cause St. Leger to raise the 
siege. If he failed, his brother, who consented to remain as 
a hostage, was to grace the same noose which had been pre- 
pared for Hanyost. All having been arranged, Arnold and 
Brooks went out, and related the particulars of the plfin in 



XIX.} ROME. 359 

the presence and hearing of the sentinel at the door of the 
guardhouse, and after they were through, Arnold, with a 
significant look, asked the sentinel if he knew his duty, to 
which the latter gave an affirmative reply. After dark 
llanyost made his escape from the guardhouse, the sentinel " 
being cautious not to fire the alarm until the double traitor 
had time to get beyond the reach of pursuit. Then the 
alarm was given, the guard turned out in the pursuit, but 
without avail. All who were not in tlie secret regretted that 
such an arrant villain should have escaped the just doom 
that awaited him. 

The life of his brother for tliis once caused llanyost to be 
true to his country, and he fulfilled his contract to tlie letter. 
An Oneida Indian had also been let into the secret, who 
cheerfully embarked in the enterprise. llanyost, who was 
acquainted with many of St. Leger's Indians, upon his arrival 
in their camp told a most piteous story of las having been 
taken by the rebels, and his escape from being hanged, and 
also showed them several holes through his coat, made by 
bullets, which, he said, were fired at him when he made his 
escape. Well acquainted with Indian character, he com- 
municated his intelligence to them in a mysterious and 
imposing manner. When asked as to the number of men 
with Arnold, he shook his head, and pointed upward to the 
leaves of the trees ; and upon being farther questioned, he 
said the number of Arnold's men could not be less than 
10,000. This news soon spread through the camps. At 
this juncture the Oneida arrived, and with a belt confirmed 
Hanyost's statement. On his way he had fallen in with 
two or three Oneida Indians of his acquaintance, who readily 
engaged in furthering his design, and these, dropping into 
the camp one after another, as if by accident, spoke of the 
■great number of warriors marching against them. They 



350 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV [cHAP. 

altoo stated that the Americans did not wish to injure the 
Indians, but if the}' continued with the British they must 
all share one common fate. By these means, alarm and eot- 
tternation were thoroughly S2)read among the whole body 
of Indians, and they resolved upon immediate flight. 8t. 
Legcr did all in his power to prevent their leaving at this 
critical juncture, but in vain. As a last resort, he tried to 
get them drunk, but ilie dram bottle had lost its charms, 
and they refused to drink. After he had failed in every 
attempt to induce them to remain, he tried to persuade 
them to fall into the rear, and form a covering party to his 
army, but this only increased their dissatisfaetion, and they 
charged him with the design of sacrificing his red allies to 
the safety of the whites. In a mixture of rage and despair. 
St. Leger immediatel}' ordered the siege to be raised, and 
with his entire force of regulars, tories, and Indians, he left 
in such haste as to leave his tents standing, abandoning all 
his artillery, and some accounts state that they left thci'' 
dinners cooking over their camp fires. The Oneida Indian, 
it seems, had a spice of the wag in his composition, for he 
followed in the rear, and occasionally raised the cry, The?/ 
are coming^ they are coming^ for his own diversion in seeing 
the Ted coats take a foot race, and the retreating army 
never felt entirely safe until fairly embarked on the Oueid;t 
Lake. 

Hanyost kept with St. Legor's army on the retreat, until 
it arrived at the mouth of AYood Creek, when he returned to 
Fort Stanwix, and gave Col. Gansevoort the first intelligence 
of the approach of Gen. Arnold's command. From thence 
lie I'eturned to Fort Dayton, and having fulfilled, on his 
part, every part and parcel of the contract, his brother was 
at once discharged. His principles had, however, undergone 
no change ; he was still a tory, and. Balaam-like, soon after 



XIX. j ROME So) 

rejoined the British standard, attaching himself to the forces 
of Sir John Johnson. After the peace of 1783, llanyost 
came back, and resided in the valley of the Mohawk. He 
was Trell known by some of the first settlers in Westmore- 
land, and was represented by tliem as a low, coarse, and 
ap2)areutly a very stupid being. 

The author, in February, 1797, when a few weeks more 
than seven years of age, passed ovei; the Oriskany battle 
field. For nearly a mile the road ran through the scarred 
forest. Many of the trees, from the ground to the height of 
twenty or thirty feet, were so perforated with bails, that 
they had the appearance of a building lately battered by a 
hail-storm. There was then but about an acre of the battlo 
field cleared, and that of quite a recent date. In the clear^ 
ing stood a log house, and near the house stood the stump of 
the beech tree beside which Gen. Herkimer received the 
fatal wound. From thence the author went to Fort Stan- 
wix. the appearance of which was truly formidable. The 
cannon mounted on its angles, and the pickets then mostly 
standing, plainly s^poke of the purpose for which it was 
erected. Many ef the pickets were standing as late as 
1806. 

The accounts are discrepant as to the day the siege wa? 
raised, some placing it on the 22d of August, and others on 
the 25th. Gen. Arnold immediately marched his division 
to Fort Stanwix, and on his way he stopped on the Oriskany 
battle field, and buried the remains of the brave men whose 
corpses had been blackening in an August sun, from the Gtli 
to the 25th of the month. Those only were buried that were 
lying in and contiguous to the road. On the first settlement 
of this section of .the county, many skeletons were found 
yet bleaching and uncovered, and a number of the first set- 
tlers met and gathered all that could be found, and uudis- 



362 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CllAP. 

tinguished between friend and foeman, they were interred 
in a common grave.* 

About the time Gen. Arnold's command proceeded to the 
relief of Fort Stanwix, several batteaux, loaded with pro- 
visions for the garrison, passed up the river, with a com- 
petent guard on the shore. As they approached the Oriskany 
battle ground, the stench was almost insupportable. Near 
the mouth of the Oriskany Creek, a gun was found standing 
against a tree, xipon which were hanging a pair of boots, 
while in the creek near by lay the remains of their supposed 
owner, far advanced in decomposition. In the grass near 
the shore lay the bod}' of a well-dressed man, without hat 
or coat, who they supposed had expended his latest energies 
in crawling to tiie water to quench his thirst. His head 
was bound up with a black silk handkerchief, which Sergeant 
John Clark, of the party, loosened, but left it with its owner. 
He, however, took from his shoes a pair of silver buckles. 
A little farther on, nine dead bodies were lying across the 
road, arranged in regular order, as was supposed, by the 
Indians after they had fallen. A short distance farther, an 
Indian was seen dangling from the liiub of a tree, suspended 
by tiie heels with the tug strap of a harness from a baggage 
waggon ; this, it was conjectured, had been done by some of 
<Jen. Herkimer's men, after their tawny foe had been killed, 
or severely wounded, in the f'Ontest. 

The failure of the expedition against Fort Stanwix was a 

a victory achieved in the cause of the United States. If 

allowed to speculate, suppose the fortress had capitulated, 

_po stand could have been made this side of Albany ; the 

* The party consisted of persons from Rome, Westmoreland, and 
Whitestown. Judge IlatLaway was tlie first to move in the eiiltT- 
prise, and a number of cart loads of bones were tlius coll'.cted and 
interred. 



XTX.] ROME. 363 

Mohawk Valley would have been swept by Branfc and hia 
Indians, as with the besom of destrnction ; the tomahawk, 
the scalping knife, and the firebrand would have left it with- 
out a dwelling or an inhabitant. And if Burgoyne had been 
reinforced by such a force, surrounded as he was by forests 
and mountains, every foot of which was known to the sav- 
ages, the issue might have been widely diiferent, and slavery, 
instead of freedom, been the result. 

"Nothing," says the British Annual Register for 1777, 
'■ could have been more untoward in the present situation of 
aiFairs, than the unfortunate issue of this expedition. The 
Americans represented this and the affair at Bennington as 
great and glorious victories. Gansevoort and Willett, with 
Starke and Warner (heroes of Bennington), were ranked 
among those who were considered the saviours of their coun- 
try." 

On the 19th of September and the 7th of October, two 
severe battles were fought at Saratoga; although not de- 
cisive, the advantage in each was with the Americans, and 
as a result, on the 16th of October Gen. Burgoyne surren- 
dered his army to Gen. Gates. 

Gen. Sullivan was appointed to command the expedition 
against the Indians of Western New York in 1779, and the 
command of the eastern division of his army was assigned to 
Gen. James Clinton. The destruction of the Onondagas 
preceded the attack of the concentrated forces on the Seneca. 
and other western nations. Gen. Clinton detached Col. Van 
Schaick, assisted by Col. Willett and Major Cochran, with a 
force of about 500 men, for the service of destroying the 
Onondaga villages, and on the 19th of April, 1779, they 
left Fort Stanwix. The party encountered rainy weather, 
swollen streams, and morasses, yet moved with such celerity 
as to arrive at tlie Onondaga settlements the third day. 



364 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. [clIAP, 

For the purpose of distracting the attention of the Indians, 
the party was divided into detachments, with orders to attack 
simultaneously as many settlements as possible. The work 
of destruction was soon commenced, and the Indians, taken 
entirely by surprise, fled so precipitately as to leave their 
guns, and other weapons, in their wigwams. Their villages 
were soon wrapt in flames, gardens spoiled, provisions de- 
stroyed, and cattle killed. In one day the Onondagas were 
reduced from a state of comfort and security to one of misery 
and famine, houseless, and destitute. The influence of this 
expedition was most salutary on those of the Oneida Nation 
who were wavering, for a deputation from the Oneidas and 
Tu.scaroras was immediately dispatched to Fort Stanwix, to 
brighten the chain of friendship, and give renewed assurance 
of continuing true to the States. 

Having thus accomplished the objects of the expedition, 
Col. Van Schaick returned to Fort Stanwix, without the loss 
of a single man. 

In October, 1780, Sir John Johnson and Brant collected, 
with great secresy, at La Chien, on the island of Montreal, a 
motley band of about 1,200 men, principally Canadians and 
Indians : a force which, from its materials, might well be 
supposed capable of accomplishing deeds of cruelty and 
blood. This body ascended the St. Lawrence in batteaux to 
Lake Ontario, thence to Oswego, up the Oswego and Oneida 
Kivers to the Chittenango Creek, and up that stream about 
six miles, where they landed on the east bank, at a short 
bend, opposite to what was afterwards known as " Lot No. 
100," in the town of Cicero. This was probably as near as 
they dare approach Fort Stanwix, for fear of alarming the 
garrison, which was at all times on the alert At the place 
of landing was a pallisade enclosure, which had been erected 
on some former occasion, and which they proceeded to put 



XIX.] ROME. 365 

in a good state of repair. A sufficient guard was left to 
protect the boats, and sucli stores as were not needed for 
the remainder of the expedition. The party then crossed 
the country to Schoharie, where they were joined by the 
tories of that region. Ruin, desolation, and death marked 
their progress, and after doing immense damage, they made 
a precipitate retreat. The Americans mustered, under 
Gen. Robert Van Rensselaer, and pursued them as far as 
Clocksfield. Had that General fulfilled liis promise to sus- 
tain Col. Brown and his party, that brave officer and one- 
third of his men would not have been sacrificed at Stone 
Arabia. Van Rensselaer's efiiective force nearly doubled 
that of the enemy, and nothing but the most criminal supine- 
ness prevented the capture of Col. Johnson and his whole 
party ; indeed, when he ordered his men to fall back and 
encamp, the enemy Avere on the point of capitulation. To 
add to this chapter. of blunders. Van Rensselaer sent an 
express to Fort Stanwix, informing the commandant where 
Sir John's boats were concealed, with a statement of the 
movements of the hostile party. (J^ptain Walter Vroomau 
was, in consequence, immediately dispatched from Fort Stan- 
wix, with a detachment of fifty men, to destroy the boats 
and stores left at the place of landing. Capt. Vrooman lost 
no time in the execution of his orders, and the guard left by 
Sir John were taken prisoners, the stores all destroyed, and 
the boats sunk, except two, in which the party intended to 
return. It seems that, by some means. Sir John had been 
apprised of Capt. Vrooman's movement, and he dispatched a 
detachment of Butler's rangers, with a party of Indians, 
with orders to push forward with all haste, if possible to 
intercept Capt. Vrooman and his little force. By forced 
marches, the British and Indians arrived in the vicinity of 
the Ghittecango Creek, and unexpectedly came upon the 



356 ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY ' [cHAP 

Captain and his men, -while taking their dinner, and aa 
about to embark on their return, and without firing a single 
gun made the whole party prisoners. The Indians and 
Canadians were greatly exasperated on finding their boats 
and two pieces of cannon sunk, and their stores rifled and 
spoiled, and as a consequence, the prisoners were treated 
with the greatest severity. Three of their number fell im- 
mediate victims to savage cruelty. One poor fellow was 
compelled, while bound hand and foot, to run the gauntlet. 
Being placed at the head of two parallel lines of Indians, he 
was ordered to run between the lines for their whole length, 
the savages, while he was passing, giving him blows with 
whips, clubs, and weapons, and if he should be successful ia 
getting through, his life was to be spared. He started with 
a determined resolution, and made nine extraordinary leaps, 
when he was struck down, beaten with clubs, and then bound 
to a pine tree, and there roasted alive. This tree was stand- 
ing but a few years since, and known in the neighborhood as 
" The Turtle Tree}'' The figure of a large turtle was cut by 
the Indians on the tree, indicating that it was the turtle 
branch of the tribe who committed the barbarity, as well as 
designating the particular tree. At every anniversary of 
this event, Indians revisited this spot to examine the tree, 
and renew the tracks in the sand made by the unfortunate 
prisoner, and after holding a sort of '■'■pow-ivowP would then 
disappear. This custom was continued yearly as late as 
1815 Such was the distance between these tracks made by 
the unfortunate man while running the gauntlet, that the 
fleetest unbound Indian could but with great exertion equal 
them. The place at which this event occurred, is about two 
miles north from Matthews' Mills, in the town of Manlius, 
on land now or lately occupied by Mr. Ezra Tucker 

John Adams. Esq., who first surveyed much of the land 



X!X.l ROME. 367 

in that vicinity, and the late Judge John Knowles, who 
settled there in 1805 or 1806, saw the pickets then standing 
near the landing place, and occasionally found guns, hatchets, 
knives, bullets, etc. ; and at high-water many persons have 
seen whole boats and fragments of others driven up among 
the flood-wood, with timbers very little decayed. These cir- 
cumstances, corroborative of the testimony of Mi'S. Storms, 
who was a prisoner taken in this expedition of Johnson, and 
tliat of Foster, a tory, who was one of Johnson's party, are 
strong evidence to show that Col. Stone, in his Life of 
Btant. was mistaken in locating this transaction on the 
Onondaga River. 

Capt. Vrooman, who was a powerful man, had a large 
pack placed on his shoulders by the Indian who claimed 
him a.s his prisoner. This pack was made of a striped "lin- 
sey wooisey" petticoat, stolen from some good '•vrmc'" in 
Stone Arabia, and was sufficiently capacious — if, indeed, 
somewhat deficient in length — to hold enough of plunder to 
tax Capt. Vrooman's muscular powers to their utmost. He 
had not, however, borne it for before he was recognized by 
Col. Johnson, who inquired why he carried it ? Replying 
tliat it had been placed upon him by an Indian, the Colonel 
cut its fastenings with his sword, letting the pack fall to the 
ground. In a short time the owner of the pack, who was in 
the rear when it was cut from Capt. Vrooman's shoulders, 
came up, and in anger replaced it, threatening him with 
death if he did not continue to carry it It had been re- 
placed but a short time when Sir John again, seeing the 
American captain (who was a fine specimen of the early 
Dutch) under the unseemly load, once more severed its 
fastenings, placing a guard around him to prevent any 
insult or injury from the red warrior. In a few minutes 
the latter re-appeared, with uplifted tomahawk, threatenii^g 



363 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [ciIAr. 

vengeance ; but finding the prisoner guarded by bristling 
"bayonets, be sullenly again fell to the rear. He, however, 
watched during all the way to Canada for a favorable oppor- 
tunity to execute his threat. Shortly afterwards, while 
^crossing a stream upon a log, this Indian with his pack fell 
into the water, and would have been drowned had it not 
■liave been for assistance rendered by his comrades. On 
arriving at Montreal, Capt. Vrooman was incarcerated in 
.prison, and did not again see the sun for two long years. 

On the 2d of March, 1781, Sergeant James Williamson 
■was ordered, with Corporal Samuel Betts, and six soldiers, 
to proceed from Fort Stanwix to guard a small party of 
wood-choppers, who were at work about half a mile from the 
fort. While thus engaged. Brant, with a strong force of 
Indians and tories, made a sudden onset upon them, and 
made the whole prisoners, excepting Sergeant Williamson, 
who made his escape to the post amid a shower of balls. 
Only two Americans were wounded, Timothy Reynolds nnd 
William MoiFatt, and the latter, having fired upon tlie ene- 
my, was tomahawked and scalped. The enemy immediately 
left the vicinity of the fort, with their prisoners, and fordeil 
the Mohawk some distance below. Upon the arrival of 
Williamson at the fort, the alarm gun was fired, and a 
strong body sallied out in pursuit, which continued till 
night-fall. 

On arriving near the river, at the path leading from tlie 
fort to Fort Dayton (now Herkimer), Brant halted his 
force, and cutting the buckle-straps from his prisoners' 
shoes, carefully placed them along the path upon the snow 
crust, that the Americans might know the fate of their 
friends, and, quite probably with the intent of luring them 
into his power, with the hope of rescuing the captives. 
Brant then proceeded to the Oneida Castle, and from 



XIX.] ROME. 369 

thence, after procuring a supply of corn, made his way to 
Fort Niagara. These incidents were often related by Wil- 
liamson to his friends after the war. Before arriving at 
Niagara, an incident occurred illustrative of the singular 
caprice of the savage chieftain. Brant ordered Corporal 
Betts to exercise his men and fellow-prisoners, to see if they 
understood the tactics of Baron Steuben. Betts, either 
doubting the ability of his men to do justice to the Baron's 
system, or feeling disinclined to such an exhibition in his 
unpleasant and disheartening condition, wished to avoid the 
performance, but Brant peremptorily commanded obedienqe. 
Betts drew out his men, fifteen in number, dressed them into 
line, and then went through the manual exercise, a la Steu- 
ben, much to the satisfaction of Brant. Some of the tories, 
however, were disposed to ridicule the manner in which the 
Yankees had done the thing ; but Brant put a stop to their 
fun by a terrible frown, saying at the same time, that "the 
Yankees went through with it a d — d sight better than they 
could, and that he liked to see the thing done well, although 
it were done by an enemy." 

Nothing farther of moment is known to have occurred at 
Fort Stanwix during the war which closed in 1783, when 
Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States. 
In that treaty Great Britain made no provision for her In- 
dian allies, but ungratefully left them to take care of them- 
selves as best they could. The Indians were much offended 
when they found they were unremunerated for all their 
losses and sacrifices during the war. A large portion of 
them had the good sense to perceive that if. when united 
with Britain, they were unequal to a contest with the States, 
their chance single-handed would be but poor indeed. An- 
other portion, at the head of whom was the far-famed Red 
Jacket, and no doubt encouraged by British traders and 

24 



370 ANNAL3 OF ONEIDA COVNTV. [cHAP. 

agents, wore for continuing the war ; but the peace party, 
headed by Corn Planter, prevailed. Accordingly, a treaty 
was made at Fort Stanwix, iu October, 1784, between the 
chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations, on the one part, and 
Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, commis- 
sioners on the part of the United States. At this treaty 
La Fayette was present. The Six Nations agreed to sur- 
render all the captives taken in the war, and relinquish their 
claim to a portion of the western part of this State, and a 
large section north-west of the Ohio. Red Jacket* was 
present, and did all iu his power to prevent the cession of 
the territory, or the conclusion of a treaty of peace. 

Forty years afterwards, when La Fayette had become the 
"• Nation's guest," and when at Buffalo he was introduced to 
Red Jacket. Their conversation was carried on through an 
interpreter. During the interview La Fayette alluded to 
the treaty of Fort Stanwix, and not recognizing Red Jacket, 
inquired, "And what has become of the young Seneca, who 
on that occasion so eloquently opposed the burying of the 
tomahawk?" " He is now before you," replied the haughty 
chieftain. 

On his way to Fort Stanwix to attend the treaty, La 
Fayette called at the log cabin of Judge White, in "VVhites- 
boro In 1824, in passing through Oneida County, he re- 
collected the occurrence, and inquired for Judge White and 
family. On being informed that the Judge's widow yet 
resided near where he had seen her, he manifested the wish, 
and called upon her. 

The attendance of La Fayette at this treaty was one of 
his last acts as a public officer when in the service of the 
United States. 

* So named from a vo.st of that color presented to hira by the 
British, and which was worn by him on all great occasions. 



XIX. ] ROME. 3fl 

A reminiscence of Gen. Stanwix, wlio erected, and from 
whom the fort of which we have been speaking was named, 
— a name to which after-events in relation to its defence 
have attached so much importance, that "Stanwix Hall" 
has been affixed to first class public houses both in Alban}^ 
and Rome. — it is thought will be interesting to the reader. 
Gen. Stanwix was an Irishman, and in 1766, in crossing the 
Irish channel from Ireland to England, with his family, the 
vessel on which they had embarked foundered, and every 
soul on board perished. The General left property, and 
there was an attempt to have its descent to collateral 
branches governed by the principles of the Roman law ; 
that is, that those in the meridian of life would prima facie 
purvive those of less powers of endurance, either from the 
tender years of youth, or the infirmities of age. The Court 
of King's Bench, however, waived the decision, on account 
of the nicety of applying the rule to the case, and recoEa- 
mended a compromise, which was acceded to. 



FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN 

The precise time when the first settlers after the Revolu- 
tion came to Rome, can not be precisely ascertained. Jede- 
diah Phelps, Esq., came into the county with Judge Dean, 
in 1 784, and erected a shop for carrying on his trade, that of 
brass founder and silversmith, at Wood Creek, and after 
being '• drowned out " from that location in the spring of 
1785, settled at Fort Stanwix. A few other settlers pro- 
bably came there at about the same ^time. In the years 
1785 and 1786 five log houses were erected in the vicinitv 
of the fort. The author has frequently heard it stated by 
Ilia father, that when he arrived, in JajDuarj, 1787, thery 



372 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

•were three log houses at old Fort Schuyler, seven at Whitep- 
boro, three at Oriskany, five at Fort Stanwix, and three in 
Westmoreland-, and that these twenty-one houses, a portion of 
•which were little more than huts, then sheltered the whole 
white population in what is now Oneida County, and indeed 
in the whole of the State of New York west of Utica, a few 
traders with the Indians excepted. 

During the administration of the elder Adams, a company 
of " the standing array," commanded by Capt. Cherry, ■w'as 
quartered in the octagon block-house in Fort Stanwix. This 
block-house was built subsequently to the Revolution, and 
previous to Jay's treaty. It is believed it was built in 1795 
or 1796, when much alarm was felt through the country 
from the hostile attitude of the western Indians. 

Among the early settlers of Rome, and prominent men 
prior to 1800, were John Barnard, George Huntington, 
Joshua Hathaway, Dr. Stephen White, Henry Huntington. 
Rozel Fellows, Matthew Brown, Bill Smith, Seth Ranney. 
Matthew Brown, Jan., David Brown, Ebenezer, Daniel W., 
and Thomas Wright, Thomas Selden, Solomon and John 
Williams, Peter Colt, Col. William Colbrath, Abijah and 
Clark Putnam, Caleb Reynolds, Rufus Easton, Thomas 
Gilbert, Moses Fish, Stephen Lampman, Jeremiah Steves 
and John Niles, all of whom, witii one or two exeeptiouK. 
are now deceased. 

In the spring of 1793 John Barnard kept a tavern a few 
rods north-east from the present site of the Court House. 
In the latter part of April, or fore part of May, Mr. George 
Huntington arrived with a small assortment of goods, and 
for the want of better accommodations, he put them up for 
the benefit of customers in Barnard's bar room. This Avas 
the first store in Rome. The building thus occupied as a 
tavern and store was the first two-story building erected in 



XIX] ROME. oTS" 

Kome, and was built by Seth Ranuey. In the course of the 
season Mr. Huntington put up a small one-story framed 
building, into which he removed his goods. Henry Hun- 
tington, his brother and partner, resided in New York until 
1 798, when he removed to Rome. The first store built by 
Mr. (1. Huntington stood on James street, just north of the 
Merrill's Block. 

About the first of August, 1799, Thomas Walker started 
the first printing press in Rome, in this same first store. 
He printed a weekly paper, entitled the Columbian Gazette^ 
for Eaton and Walker, proprietors. 

The oldest buildings now standing in Rome, are the early 
residences of Messrs. H. and Gr. Huntington, on Dominick, 
oast of James street, and the plow factory (formerly Mc- 
<Jartliy's store) on the corner of Dominick and Washington 
streets. 

The first grist mill in Rome was erected in 1795, and 
stood on Wood Creek, a few rods northerly from the United 
States' Arsenal. Its location for "custom work" must have 
been excellent, for in 1796 or 1797 a batteau loaded with 
«'oru arrived at this mill, having threaded its way from 
Ontario County, down the Seneca River to Three River 
Point, thence up the Oneida River and the Oneida Lake to 
Wood Creek, up that stream through all its windings and 
turnings twenty-five miles to the mill. After getting their 
"grist ground," the same devious track had to be followed 
on their return ; but as perseverance accomplishes all things, 
in due time, • and without accident, they arrived at their 
homes, much to the joy of their ftimilies and friends, who 
were famishing for "lack of bread." 

Dr. Stephen White kept a tavern, in 1797, at the lower 
landing on the Mohawk, and near where the old canal 
was locked into the river. His house was opposite the pre- 



374 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

sent residence of Matthew Huntington, then the residence 
of Col. William Colbrath. Cicero Gould and brother kept 
a tavern in the building (since mostly rebuilt) now occupied 
by Col. Henry A. Foster. Thomas Gilbert kept a tavern 
at the lower landing on Wood Creek, at its confluence with 
Canada Creek. 

Previous to 1800 a man by the name of Logan kept, as a 
hotel, the large three-story wooden building on the north- 
west corner of James and Dominick streets. This building 
was burnt at the '-great fire," and is succeeded by the four- 
story brick building known as the ''American." 

By an act passed March 30, 1792, it was enacted, — '"That 
there shall be established two companies of stockholders, one 
for the purpose of opening a lock navigation from the now 
navigable part of Hudson's Kiver, to be extended to Lake 
Ontario and to the Seneca Lake, and to be called and known 
by the name of ' The President, Directors, and Company of 
the Western Inland Lock Navigation, in the State of New 
York.' and the other for like purpose with respect to north- 
ern parts of the Hudson, &c., &c. The Commissioners for 
distributing stock were, Samuel Jones, David Gelston, Com- 
fort Sands, Melancton Smith, and Nicholas Hoftman, of 
New York ; and Abraham Ten Broeck, John Taylor, 
Philip S. Yan Rensselaer, Cornelius Glen, and John Ten 
Broeck. 

"The first Directors were, Philip Schuyler, Leonard 
Gansevoort, Jeremiah Van Pvensselaer, Elkanah Watson, 
John Taylor, Jellis A. Fonda, William North, Goldsbrow 
Banyar, Daniel Hale, John Watts, Walter Livingston, 
Dominick Lynch, James Watson, Matthew Clarkson, Ezra 
L'Hommedieu, Melancton Smith, David Gelston, Stephen 
Lush, Cornelius Glen, Silas Talbot, John Frey, Douw 
Fonda. John Sanders, Nicholas J. Ros.sevelt. Daniel McCor- 



*s 



XIX.] HOME. d75 

mick, Marinus Willett, Jonathan Lawrence, Piiilip Van 
Cortlandt, and James Clinton. 

" The waters between Schenectady and Wood Creek were 
to be made navigable within five years after January 1 st, 
1 793, and to be completed down Wood Creek to Lake On- 
tario and Seneca Lake, within fifteen years from the same 
date. The State paid to each company, as a 'free gift,' 
$ 12.500 when each had expended $25,000. 

"'The Western Inland Lock Navigation Company' com- 
pleted a canal connecting the navigable waters of Mohawk 
River and Wood Creek, at Rome, in 1797 ; it was two miles 
in length, and of a capacity for Durham boats of forty tons 
burthen ; it had locks built of brick, at the east and west 
ends, and its water was from the Mohawk by a feeder at the 
centre ; its course passed the southerly margin of the vil- 
lage." — Western Enquirer. 

The brick locks, it seems, did not answer the purpose, and 
they were shortly afterwards rebuilt with more substantial 
materials. The bricks of which they were first constructed 
were very large, and the first Court House at Rome was 
constructed of them. Since the Court House was burned 
in 1848, these same bricks are again reused for the walls 
of a handsome dwelling at the corner of George and Court 
streets. 

The following particulars respecting this canal are con- 
densed from a notice of it in the first edition of Spafi'ord's 
Gazetteer of New York, published in 1819. " The canal is 
fed by a lateral cut from the Mohawk, which entered it 
nearly a mile west of the river. It had a lock of ten feet 
at the eastern, and another of eight feet at the western ter- 
minations. There were also four locks, respectively of four, 
six, seven, and eight feet, upon Wood Creek, within five 
miles of Rome, which were made by throwing dams across 



375" ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

the stream. Batteaux, carrying from three to fifteen tons, 
drawing two feet of water, could pass, but in dry seasons 
with some difficulty. About 1812 it was estimated that 300 
boats, witli 1,500 tons of merchandise, &c., went thi-ough 
this canal annuall3^ The canal at Little Falls [Rockton]. 
was completed in 1795." These stupendous enterprises, for 
that period, were greatly indebted to the wisdom and energy 
of Gen. Schuyler, who was President of the Company by 
which they were constructed. '-The average freights in 
1312 from New York to Oswego, per hundred weight, were. 
— to Albany, 30 cents ; to Schenectady, 16 cents; to Uticu. 
75 cents ; and to Oswego, $ 1 25, or $2 40 per cwt. through, 
which included lockage, portage money, &c. But the pro- 
ject of a Great Western Canal, to connect Lake Erie and 
the Hudson by a boat navigation, is now a principal topic 
in this State. Commissioners have examined the country, 
and have reported in favor of the project, but on a plan 
which to my [SpafFord's] apprehension is generally imprac- 
ticable. The object is certainly a desideratum of vast im- 
portance, and the magnitude of the undertaking is warranted 
by the ample means at our disposal. But the object is, or 
ought to be, a national one. and Congress will probably be 
induced to lend efficient aid whenever its practicability shall 
be satisfactorily demonstrated to that body." Such doc- 
trines sound strangely in this "day and genei'ation." 

Peter Colt superintended the construction of the old canal. 
An anecdote which went the rounds of the papers at the 
time, may not be entirely uninteresting. Then, as now, 
canals were mainly constructed by Irish laborers. As Mr. 
Colt was passing through a company of these laborers one 
dav, for some real or supposed oifence or delinquency, he 
gave one of them a smart kick on his rear exposure. The 
man instantly let go his barrow, and while with his left hand 



XIX,] ROME. 377 

rubbiug the seat of attack, -with Ins right very respectfully 
raised liis hat, and rolling the quid in his mouth, and with a 
peculiar knowing twinkle of the eye, said, in the richest 
Irish brogue, "Fath and by Jassus, if yer honor kicks so 
wliile ye're a coidt. what'U ye do when ye get to be a 
liorse?'^ 

George Huntington was continuous Collector and Peter 
Colt Superintendent for the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
tion Company until the completion of the Erie Canal., 
There is extant a copy of the finding of a body of freehold- 
ers of Herkimer County, summoned by William Colbrath. 
sheriff of said county, dated November, 1797, in which they 
assess to the proprietors of "the Expense Lot," for fourteen 
acres of land, taken by the Western Inland Lock Naviga- 
tion Company, upon which to excavate their canal. Damages 
$ 1 00 and costs of appraisal. 

In the second war for independence, declared in 1812, 
Home had not quite lost " the fire of the flint " of the " days 
that tried men's souls." AVhen called upon, it again and 
again furnished its quota of men for the defence of the 
northern frontier. Major Samuel Dill, of this town, was at 
Sacketts Harbor in the first detachment under Col. Bellin- 
ger, in 1812. Whbn the downfall of Napoleon on the field 
of Waterloo had left no other enemy to haughty Bi'itain 
than the United States, when Wellington's hitherto invin- 
cible regiments were pouring into Canada, in that dai'kest 
period of the war, Governor Tompkins, unsolicited, appointed 
Joshua Hathaway Quarter Master General of the New York 
State Militia, and ordered him to Sacketts Harbor. When 
he arrived at that post, it was under the command of the 
hero of Oswego, Col. Mitchell, of the regular artillery, who 
immediately tendered to him the command, as senior ofiicer. 
This was at first modestly declined, but on Col. Mitchell's 



378 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

earnestly insisting, with the most cordial assurances of his 
good will, counsel, and co-operation, it was accepted. 

In the fall of this year the Oneida County Militia were 
called to Sacketts Harbor, f?i masse, and the 157th regiment, 
usually known as the Rome regiment, commanded by Col. 
Joim Westcott, embodied and marched to that post. Among 
its officers were Lieut.-Col. Joshua G. Green, Captains Rudd, 
Fillmore, Church, Grannis, Hinckley, and Peck, (perhaps 
some of these were there previously, in the detached militia.) 
8tafF; Adjutant Samuel Beardsley, Paymaster Jay Hatha- 
way, Surgeon Henry H. Smith. 

In a truthful narrative of the events of that period, the 
historian is compelled to record the fact, that there were 
individuals of high standing, who would attend the military 
parades when drafts were called for, and harangue the men 
when under arms, denouncing the war as wicked, and ail 
those who volunteered their services as murderers. 

The United States' Arsenal, magazine, workshops, and 
officers' quarters at this place, were erected in 1813. The 
work was superintended by Major James Dalliba, of the 
Ordnance Department. A State Arsenal, built of brick, 
previous to 1810, stood on the site now occupied by St. 
Peter's (Catholic) Church. It was accijdentally destroyed 
by fire, with its contents, a few years since. 

On the 4th of July, 1817, the ground was first broken in 
the construction of the Erie Canal. This was done with 
appropriate public ceremonies, and the place selected was 
a few rods west of the United States' Ai'senal, and the honor 
of casting the first shovel of earth was assigned to the late 
Hon. Joshua Hathaway. Wood Creek flows into the canal 
at this point, and the surplus water passes off by a waste 
weir over its old channel, following which about three-fourths 
of a mile, it, receives ]Mud Creek, a small mill stream', from 



XIX.] ROME. 379 

the south-west, and about the same distance below is the 
remains of Fort Bull. 

The Erie Canal from Montezuma to Utica was so far 
completed as to be navigable in 1 820. Bela B. Hyde was 
the first collector, appointed at Bome, and held the office for 
eighteen successive years. The first tolls were paid by Col. 
John Westcott, upon a raft of timber. The Erie Canal on 
its first construction through Rome, passed about half a 
mile south of the village, but this was a departure from the 
uniform course pursued by the State in the location of its 
public works. In every other instance it is believed the 
canal was located, as far as consistent with the public in- 
terest, so as to save capital already invested, while at this 
point a different policy or course was pursued. The canal 
located half a mile from the village was far more expensive 
in its construction than if laid in the bed of the old canal 
through the village. No very satisfactory reasons have ever 
been adduced for such a location, and it was certainly very 
disastrous to the village, and for eighteen years kept it 
behind the other villages upon the line of the canal. At 
the time of its construction, it was said the Western Inland 
Lock Navigation Company asked such an exorbitant price 
for their canal, that it was thought cheaper to make a new 
one than to bu}'' it. Others suspected that an assistant 
engineer was interested in testing the practicability of con- 
structing canals through a muck swamp, as he owned land 
of that description in another county, which would be greatly 
benefitted if canal making in such grounds proved success- 
ful. Be that as it may, all the advantage which Rome de- 
rived from the canal for the above term of time was very 
limited, although it is true that a storehouse and a little 
cluster of cheap buildings, mostly built upon piles, sprang 
up in the swamp. In point of durability, the latter just 



380 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

answered their eud. for when the location of the enlarged 
canal was changed through the village, these buildings had 
Fived out their day, and their owners experienced very little 
loss. The change of location, which was in 1844, gave a 
new impulse to the business of the place. 

This now forsaken channel, however, still answers a 
valuable purpose as a drain for the " swamp." Several hun- 
dred acres, originally covered with a dense growth of pine, 
cedar, and black ash, liave lately been cleared, and are found 
so dry that the alluvial soil is very valuable for agricultural 
purposes. 

The Syracuse and Utica Railroad passes through the 
southerly part of the village, crossing the Mohawk and Eric 
(I'anal upon wooden bridges. The depot is a substantial 
stone building, 225 feet in length. This road was chartered 
in 1836, and its construction has added materially to the 
jirosperity of Rome. The Rome and Watertowil Railroad, 
now constructing, makes its junction with the Syracuse and 
Utica Railroad a few reds westerly from the depot. Ex- 
tensive bijildings are about to be ei-ected near the junction. 

The Black River Canal passes in a southerly direction 
through the easterly part of the village. This work has 
progressed very slowly. From the disordered situation of 
the State finances in 1842, all public works for a time were 
suspended, but a better state of things has enabled the State 
to resume its public works, and this canal is in such a state 
of forwardness, that it became navigable to the Black River 
in the spring of 1850. 

The capitalists of Rome, aided by the inhabitants of the 
different sections of country interested, have, with a laudable 
ambition, converted all the important highways leading to 
the village into plank roads. Those from Rome to Oswego, 
from Rome to Taberg, from Rome to Turin, and from Rome 



XIX. J ROME. 381 

to Western and Boonville, are already constructed, while 
one from Rome to Hamilton is in the course of construction. 

The Rome Academy, an incorporated institution, occupies 
a handsome three-story structure, built by subscription in 
1848, upon a beautiful and prominent location on the public 
square, on the north side of Court street, and west of the 
Court House and James street. It is under the charge of a 
board of trustees, who have power to fill all vacancies in 
their number. Rev. S. R. Brown, some time missionary 
in China, is its principal, and the female department is 
under the care of Miss Sabina Jennings, late of Mount 
Holyoke Seminary. For an institution so recently estab- 
lished, it is in a very prosperous condition, now numbering 
about 200 students, with a juvenile department attached. 

The common schools of Rome have claimed the attention 
of its prominent citizens, and are not behind those of an}' 
section of i,he county.* 

The village contains 500 dwelling houses, some of them 
very elegant structures, and pre-eminent among which is 
that of Mr. Edward Huntington, on Liberty street, which is 
of brick, finely stuccoed and shaded, in imitation of stone. 
It also contains forty stores and sixty mechanic shops. The 
principal public houses are the American, Northern, and 
Railroad Hotels, Stanwix Hall, Tremont House, Willett 
House, and Seymour House. The Bank of Rome and Fort 
Stanwix Bank are each doing an extensive and profitable 
business. The Rome Exchange Bank has been established 
within the present summer (1851). 



* Since the foregoing was penned, a new era has commenced in 

the common schools in the village. A new school house has been 

erected, of brick, seventy feet by fifty, two stories high, calculated 

to accommodate 400 scholars, and located upon a large lot in a 

1 .handsome and convenient position, at an expense of about S 7,000» 



382 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. {CIIAP. 

The natural advantages of Rome as a place of business, 
arc good, and its location central. The carrying place from 
the Mohawk to Wood Creek in the olden time, the old canal 
making an uninterrupted water navigation from New York 
to the Ontario, Cayuga, and Seneca Lakes, the elevated dry 
gravelly plain, so firm and suitable for building ground, the 
excellence of its water, and its contiguity to the forc-raen- 
tioned streams for hydraulic purposes, all seemed to point 
to this location as one for a place of extensive business. Its 
growth, however, for the first half century after its perma- 
nent settlement, was far short of public expectation, and for 
this there were a number of causes. A prominent one was 
in the fact, that the owners of the soil refused to sell the fee 
simple of the building lots. Enterprising business men. 
locating themselves in a new countr}', generally possess too 
much of the spirit of independence, too much of the feeling 
of "anti-rentism," to wiUicgly impose on their jiosterity the 
burthen of an annual stipend to the landholder. The loca- 
tion of the Seneca turnpike, some ten miles south of Home, 
and intersecting the Mohawk at Utica, soon caused a rival, 
vfithout a tythe of its natural advantages, to grow up and 
outstrip it. And then the unkind and unjust first location 
of the Erie Canal, as before mentioned, added to the fact 
that the energies and ambition of the people had become 
too dormant, left this place with but a very tardy progress. 
The construction of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, the 
change of the route of the Erie Canal, and the construction 
of the Black River Canal, roused the Romans to burst "the 
ahell" which had so long encased them, and their now flou- 
rishing and prosperous place, with its improvements, its plank 
roads, and business facilities, give unerring evidence of th^e 
public spirit of its capitalists, and the enlightened energies 
uf it3 people ; and with its but few years of prosperity, it 



XIX. ] ROME SSo 

even now claims a reserved stock of public spirit and am- 
bition, with a basia, it is believed, of sound advantages, 
Avhich, wlien events shall ripen, and the State Capitol, in 
search of a new location, shall " westward take its way," will 
then sliow their mettle in the strife with Utica and Syracuse ; 
'•till when, it bides its time " 

Two fires in the village, the first burning quite a portion 
of the business portion on the south side of Dominick street, 
and the "great fire," which occurred January Gth, 1846, 
sweeping all the buildings on the north side of Dominick 
street, from the Bank of Rome on the west to James street, 
and up that to Stone Alley, have very materially added to 
the beauty of the place. In the brief space of three years 
from their occurrence, the whole of the burnt districts were 
rebuilt with good substantial brick buildings, and on the site 
of the latter fire it is believed few finer or more uniform 
blocks of its extent can be found in central New York. 

In one instance thousands now regret that the ruthless 
hand of improvement had not been staved. The noble fort, 
built on the strictest scientific rules, and round which so 
many rich reminiscences centre, has been razed, and not one 
portion of it left to mark its locality. It was an exception 
to every other fortification in the " Old Thirteen," for it was 
never taken, and no enemy ever entered within its ramparts. 
For a pleasure ground, its location was most admirable, and 
planted with forest trees and shrubbery, no park in the 
State could have vied with it. On the south and east lay 
the finest alluvial meadows, through which the silvery Mo- 
hawk, "o'er its numerous rifts," wenda its way, while equi- 
distant between the river and the fort, meanders Spring 
Brook, " cold as winter's ice," in which in former times 
gambolled '• nature's best," the speckled trout ; while on the 
north and west^ for at least two miles, extends a level plateau. 



384 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

than •which, for town or city, no finer site exists. If it had 
]>een spared, so long as the stars and stripes float over a 
nation of freemen, so long as the remembrance of the times 
which "tried men's souls" is cherished, so long each suc- 
ceeding year would have increased the interest in a spot no 
rich in revolutionary lore. 

All now left for the historian is to speak of it as '' among 
the things that were," and as far as possible preserve the 
identity of its location. The residence of John Stryker, 
Esq., stands where stood the north-east corner or bastion, 
on the south-east that of Virgil Draper, on the south-west 
that of Alva Mudge, and on the north-west that of J). 15. 
Prince. The large elm tree standing at the west end of the 
dwelling of Alva Mudge, in 1804 was a small ten foot sap- 
ling, growing on the west scarp, just below the top of tlie 
rampart. 

It has fared better with Fort Bull, for time has effected all 
the changes wrought upon it. It is a fort in miniature, 
compared with Fort Stanwix, yet a very handsome and 
regularly formed work. It is near a farm house owned by 
Simon Matteson, and the area within its walls is occupied as 
a garden. Pickaxes, gun barrels, hatchets, knives, flint 
arrow-heads, flints, pieces of crockery, etc., are occasionally 
plowed up within the fort and in its vicinity. In a com- 
mendable spirit, Mr. Matteson says, that so long as he owns 
the farm, the fort shall remain as it is. In building a barn 
a few years since, he used for one of the posts a stick of 
timber found in the bed of Wood Creek, and which belonged 
to the dam thrown across it at the time of the construction 
of the fort. It was entirely sound, "and just as good as 
new." 

The public buildings in Ptome are the United States' Ar- 
senal. Court House, Jail, Academy, Presbyterian, Baptist, 



XIX.] ROME. 385 

Episcopal, Methodist, Irish Roman Catholic (St. Peter's), 
Dutch Roman Catholic, Welsh Methodist, and Lutheran 
Churches. 

There are two printing offices, from each of which issues 
a weekly paper, — The Rome Sentinel (Democratic), and the 
Roman Citizen (Whig). 

In the town are twelve saw mills, carried by water, three 
steam saw mills, two furnaces, one grist and flouring mill, 
one plaster mill, one steam planing machine, one woolen 
factory, two breweries, a stone ware manufactory, and a ship 
ta-ckle block factory. The county poorhouse is in this town, 
about two miles south-west of the village. 

There are several Lodges of Odd Fellows in the village, 
which occupy a handsomely furnished hall on James street. 
There is also a flourishing Division of the Sons of Tem- 
perance. 

The Court House and Jail, just completed by the county. 
occupy the site of the former ones, which were destroyed by 
fire some three years since. They are of brick, except the 
cells, which are of large slabs of limestone. These buildings, 
in style and finish, are considered as models, worthy the 
central county of the Empire State. 

There is nothing in the geology of thLs town of particular 
interest, other than already noticed. On the southerly line 
of the town is a quan-y of freestone, particularly noticed in 
the history of Westmoreland (Chap. XXVIII). On tliu 
north line of the town the banks of the Mohawk and Guif 
Brook show large masses of shale. Bowlders are occasion- 
ally met with. The surface of the village plat, and for a 
considerable distance nortli and east, was originally almost 
covered with cobble stones, many of which exhibit numerou.'? 
petrifactions. 

In excavating the canal through the swamp, clam shells 

25 



386 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP 

of a large size, charcoal, and ashes, were found imbedded 
eight feet below the surface. 

Fish Creek, ■which forms the western boundary of the' 
town, is here large and rapid^ and was formerly well stocked 
with trout, and from May to July it amply supplied the 
Home market with the finest salmon, speared and brought in 
])v the O'ueida Indians. As late as 1800' salmon were so 
plenty, that from three tofour cents per pound was a fair 
price, and many were bought of the Indians for a pint to a 
quart of rum per salmon. They sometimes brought them 
in baskets on their backs, and when extra plent}-, the Indian 
ponies were used as pack-horses, on which the fish were 
somewhat fantastically, and quite ingeniously, bound with 
bark, the back and sides of the beast having been previously 
covered with branches of the large-leafed basswood sapling. 

The following public oificers have been elected or ap- 
pointed from among the former or present citizens of Rome 
— two Su2)reme Court Judges, three Supreme Court Com- 
missioners, six County Judges, tv^^o Sherift^, four Surrogate.?, 
one United States' Senator, one Member of Congress, six 
Members of Assembly, two State Senatora-, five County 
Treasurers, one Chief Engineer of the Erie Canal, one do. 
of the Black River Canal, and one Captain of the United 
States' Army. The first postmaster in the place was Mat- 
thew Brown, jun. 

John Barnard, who has been mentioned as an innkeepor 
and business-man in the early days of Rome, yet survives, 
at a very advanced age, in Lima, Livingston County. Jede- 
diah Phelps, Esq., also named as an earl}'- settler, has for 
many years resided in Albion, Orleans County. About two 
years since, the autlior wrote to him for some of his recol- 
lections of the early history of Oneida County. The an- 
swer came in another hand, but age had so impaired hi;* 



XIX ] ROME. 387 

memory, that nothing of interest was elicited. At ths 
bottom of the letter, in very fair and legible characters, was 
tlie following, in his own hand : — 

'• I am, dear Sir, very reapectfuiiy your.v 

" Jedf.diah FiiELrs. 
'■ My age is 1'5 '^ 

Sergeant John Dowlee, of the artillery, was ioiig in thrt 
garrison of Fort Stanwis, and was in it when it sifstained 
the siege by St. Leger. He also went out with the party 
under Col. Willctt, and- was at the taking of Sir John John- 
son's camp. He said the surprise of the Indians and tories 
was as perfect as was that of Gen. Herkimer at Oriskany, 
as tliey had no picket-guard out, and were engaged in making 
Sres and cooking their rations. It will te recollected that 
Johnson's camp was at the landing, about half a mile below 
the fort. When tlie attack was made, the tories attempted 
to ford of swim the river, and were shot down hy scorexS 
while in the river, and those who reached the shore fled for 
their lives. Sergeant Dowlee was of the opinion that a 
portion of Johnson's men had returned from the Oriskany 
battle before their camp was stormed. He declared " they 
were a bloody, villanous looking set." He was the only 
officer who settled in the vicinity of the work he had no long 
assisted in defending, and where he and his comrades had so 
signally punished the Indians and tories for the Oriskany 
butchery. He lived to a good old age 

The following epitaph, copied from the monument over 
his remains, contains so much of the history of one of 
Rome's promiac-nt citizens, that it is inserted: — 

* Since deceased. 



388 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [CHAr, 

'= In memory of the Hon. Joshua Hathaway, more than fortj' 
years a resident of this town. He was born in Suffield, Ct., Aug. 
13, 1761 ; graduated at Yale College in 1787, and died at Rome, 
Dec. 8th, 1836. ' Requiescat in pace.' As a husband and father, 
ever worthy, loved, and venerated. As a man and Christian, up- 
right and exemplary ; a friend to the needy and injured ; and a 
father in the Church. As a magistrate and judge, by the grace of 
God, an executor of justice, and maintainer of the truth, ' a terror to 
evildoers, and praise to siich as did well.' As a patriot, he bor»' 
arras in two wars for his country, and sustained at all times the 
cause of the people with zeal and fidelity. As a citizen, ever active 
and enterprising for the benefit of our common country, and among 
the foremost for the improvement of this favored portion of it. To 
him was assigned the honor of breaking ground on commencing that 
great and beneficial work, the Erie Canal, July 4, 1817. ' In the 
vario'as relations of life he fulfilled its duties as in the fear of God, 
with faithfulness, ability, and honesty of purpose. He died lament- 
ed. ' The memory of the just is blessed.' " 

Judge Hathaway's father, himself, and six brothers, were 
under Gen. Stark at the Eennington battle, which victory 
was the first link in the chain of events, and the flight of 
St. Leger from before Fort Stanwix the second, which led to 
the capture of Burgoyne ; the capture of Burgoyne laid the 
foundation for a treaty of alliance with France, and without 
the aid of the French land and naval forces, Washington 
could not have forced the capitulation of Cornwallis, which 
in fact achieved the independence of the United States. 

The following inscription is also copied from a monument 
in the village cemetery : — 

'■ To the memory of Capt. Samuel Perkins, v;ho departed this life 
at the United States' Arsenal, Rome, Dec. 30, 1837, in the 75th year 
of his age. He entered the service of his country during the War 
of the Revolution, when he was but 14 years old, and served till its 
indeperdenpp wa<j gaired. He was actively engaged !n the Indian 



XIK.J ROME. 389 

campaign of 1795, under Gen. Wayne. He also participated in, and 
lendei-ed valuable services during the late war with Great Britain. 
After which, retiring from active duties, he held for 18 years the 
station of ordnance keeper, and died in the public service. In 
every situation of his life was remarkably exemplified that just 
sc-ntiment, — ' An honest man is the noblest work of God.' " 

deorge Huntington, mentioned as the first merchant, 
apent the remainder of his days in the village. He was a 
man of great excellence of character. His personal appear- 
ance was verj' fine, and did imt escape the observation of 
his aboriginal neighbors, the Oneidas. for they gave him fw 
a name A-i-o, in their language, "handsome." He died 
September 23, 1841, aged 71 years. 

Henry Huntington, brother, and for many years partner 
in many of their business transactions, of George, came to 
this place, as has been stated, in 1798, and selected it a.s u 
home for the remainder of his life. He was a man of great 
wortli. The mercantile firm of Henry and George Hun- 
tington was uniformly noted for the integrity of its entire 
business transactions. The utmost harmony prevailed be- 
tween the brothers, and for years after they had retired from 
mercantile business, they used to meet in the morning in 
their former counting ropm, and smoke their long pipes in 
company. For a large portion of their lives they were an- 
tagonistic in their political preferences, and if the difi"erent 
parties had their bickerings, they had none. They were 
very successful in all their business transactions, and each 
had acquired a large fortune. Henry was, from the time of 
its charter, in 1812, to the time of his decease, President of 
the Utica Bank, and was considered the wealthiest man in 
the county. He died October 15, 1846. aged 80 years. 



396 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The First 'Congregational Church of Rome was formed 
September 25, 1800, and consisted of eleven members. The 
Rev. Simon Waterman, of Plymouth, Conn., was present, 
and officiated at its organization. Its first pastor was the 
Rev. Moses Gillett, a graduate of Yale College, who came to 
Rome and commenced his labors in 1806, and was ordained 
raid installed over this church in October, 1807. At that 
time the church consisted of thirty members. Mr. (lillett 
continued his labors until October, 1837, thirty years from 
his ordination. During all this time he so devoted himself 
to his work in the ministry, and with a singleness and eft'er- 
tiveness of purpose, that the inspired eulogy of Barnabas 
well applied to him : "He was a good man, and full of the 
Holy Ghost, and of faith, and much people was added unto 
the Lord." There were added to the clmrch during liis 
ministry, 807 members, 103 by letter and 704 by profession : 
of these. 184 were added March 12. 182G, as the fruits of 
the '-great revival" which occurred in connection with the 
labors of the Rev. Charles G. Finney, and the influence of 
which spread over an extensive region, but was probably 
more strongly marked in this vicinity than elsewhere. The 
influences of this revival have been likened to the weaves 
formed by casting a pebble upon a sheet of water, pressing 
forward, wave forming wave, until they strike the farthest 
shore ; so many of the inhabitants of the western prairies, 
and granite-bound New England, yet bless God tliat they 
lived in ''these days." Subsequently to this period, the 
church continued harmonious and prosperous, and receiving 
accessions, so that in 1831, at the formation of the Scrond 
ChnrcJi, it numbered over 500 members. 



XIX.] ROJilE. 391 

After Mr. Gillett's resignation, in 1837, the Rev. Messrs. 
D. Clary, B. W. Dwiglit. and E. 0. Dunning, each for a 
brief period preached to this people. In 1841 the Rev. 
Selden Hajnes was installed pastor, and held that place 
until dismissed from his charge, June 30, 1346. He was a 
successful pastor, for during his labors 130 were adde<d to 
tlie Church. 

The First and Second Churches were reunited, June 8, 
1847. The Rev. Messrs. George C. Lucas, George Bush- 
nell, and W. F. Y/illiams supplied the pulpit two years. In 
May, 1848, tlie present pastor, the Rev. William E. Knox, 
commenced his labors with the church, and was installed on 
the 2d of August following. Since his installation, there 
have been accessions of seventy-six members. Up to the 
present time (1850) great harmony prevails, the pastor, 
church, and congregation, being happily united. The large 
and increasing numbers who attend stated worship are 
straitened for accommodations in their present house, and it 
is already designed in 1 85 1 to erect a new building, in size and 
style equal to the wants of the congregation, and to correspond 
with the newly-erected public buildings of the place. 

Second Congregational Church. — In the latter part of 
the year 1S30, the First Church then containing over 500 
members, it was thought advisable, by a respectable 23or- 
tiou of them, to form a second church. On their appli- 
cation for that purpose to the Oneida Presbytery, January 
•11, 1831, their request was granted, and the next day they 
were formally organized as a church by a committee of that 
body. At the time of organization fifty-eight persons offered 
to become members, but as the number was soon increased 
to eighty-six, this latter number may be considered as its 
jiumber at its commencement. 



392 ANNALS OF ONKIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

From this time until July following, the desk was supplied 
by the Rev. Messrs. Erastus Nichols, Daniel Nash, and John 
Waters, and their brief labors were blessed to the church. 
In July, 1831, the Rev. Jacob Helfeustine entered upon the 
duties of pastor, and continued them for two years. In this 
time 160 were added by profession, and eighteen by letter. 
The next pastor was the Rev. Avelyn Sedgwick, who re- 
mained three years, during which thirty-nine were added by 
profession, and fourteen by letter. From the dismissal of 
Mr. Sedgwick, in September, 1836, to June 8, 1847, the 
time of the union of the two churches, the following clergy- 
men preached to this people, viz. : — C. Edwards Lester, 
Theodore Spencer, Herman Norton, Henry H. Hurlburt. 
Benjamin H. Campbell, Orson Parker, Charles Jones, and 
George S. Boardraan. Of these, only Messrs. Campbell and 
Jones were installed pastors, the others officiated as supplies 
from year to year. Rev. Mr. Spencer labored eighteen 
months, in which time twenty-two were added by profession. 
and twenty-seven by letter. Rev. Mr. Norton for one year. 
and five were added by profession, and six by letter. Rev. 
Mr. Campbell for eight months, and a few were added by 
letter. During the space between the dismissal of Mr. 
Campbell and the procurement of a successor, the Rev. 
Orsou Parker labored as an evangelist for a few weeks in 
the month of November, 1840. A revival followed, and as 
its fruits' about fifty were added by profession. Many pro- 
minent individuals, heads of families and young people, 
wore subjects of this revival, and since, by their consistent 
Christian deportment, have given evidence of the sincerity 
of their profession. Rev. Mr. Jones ministered to the 
church from July, 1841, until June, 1843, and in this period 
eighteen were added by profession, and twenty by letter. 
Rev Mr. Boardman commenced his ministry soon after the 



XiX.] ROME. 393 

dismissal of Mr. Jones, and continued three years, until 
June, 1846, dumg which, ten were added by profession, and 
fifteen by letter. Mr. Boardman was dismissed, as was Mr. 
Haynes, of the First Church, to further the reunion of the 
two churches, which took place June 8, 1847. 

Baptut Church. — The records of this church commence 
as follows: — ^" In the summer and autumn of the year of 
our Lord 1817, several of the members of the different 
Baptist Churches residing in Rome and its vicinity, became 
impressed with the idea that it would promote the declara- 
tive glory of God. the honor of the Redeemer's kingdom, and 
their own happiness, if God in his providence should so 
order, as to have a church formed amongst them." 

A conference on the subject was notified and held at the 
school house, in Wright's Settlement, town of Rome, October 
tio. 1817. "The result of the conference was, that there 
appeared to be ground to build upon, and material with 
which to build, without interfering with any other church or 
society." 

" Wednesday, Nov. 19. — Met according to appointment, 
voted to send to Whitestown, Floyd, Trenton, and Western 
churches, for counsel. Elder Dyer Starks, being present, 
was invited to attend ; and that they meet at the house of 
Joseph Briggs on the 10th of December, at 10 o'clock 
A. M.' 

"Dec. 10, 1817. — The conference met according 4,0 re- 
quest, and after making inquiries sufficient to satisfy them- 
selves, voted to give the brothers and sisters fellowship as a 
sister church, in token of which Elder Elon Galusha, in 
behalf of the council, gave the right hand of fellowship." 

The church thus constituted consisted of seventeen mem- 
bers. 



394 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAF. 

Elder Dyer Starks* was its first pastor, and lie continned 
his charge for several years. He was succ^ded by Elders 
Jacobs and Douglass, who each preached for a short period. 

After this the church was so fortunate as to secure the 
services of Elder David Morris. He was a " workman ap- 
proved." and during his pastorate the church and society 
were enlarged and strengthened. In August, 1826, a house 
of worship was commenced, and was completed tiie next 
year, and was "in its day" a very neat edifice. Eld. Morris 
continued with tliem ten years, when he was dismissed. Ho 
was succeeded by Eider John Gibbs, and he by Elder 
Emerson Andrews, who was dismissed in 1838. The same 
year the present pastor, 11. C. Vogell. began to preach to 
this people. He is highly esteemed by his flock and the 
citizens generally, as the length of time he has sustained 
himself with them fully evinces. Since he commenced his 
labors here, their house of worship has been greatly im- 
proved as to appearance and convenience. The Church 
froin its small beginnings, seventeen members, has increased 
so that it now numbers 294 communicants, and a large 
society attends upon their stated worship. The church con- 
tributed $300 during the past 3'ear for missionary purposes. 

The Proiesfa/ii Episcopal Clivrch at Rome was organized 
and incorporated in 1825, by the name of "Zion's Church. 
Rome.-' The Rev. A. S. Hollister was its first pastor ; Jay 
Hathaway and Henry Hayden, wardens ; Numa Leonard. 
Hiram Denio, H. N. Carr, J. B. Read, J. A. Canfield. R 



* Elder Stark.s lived to a great age. lie liad no relatives in the 
country, and for a number of years after be bad become super- 
annuated, was supported by the Oneida Baptist Association. ,After 
bis decease, the Association erected an appropriate bead-stone at 
Lis grave, in the burying ground in Rome. 



XIX.] ROME. 395 

Butler, and Peter White, vestry. The following clergymen 
have at different periods, as rectors or in other capacitie?, 
liad charge of the church, viz. ; — M. A. Perry, Geo. Fiske, 
William W. Niles, J. Sunderland, J. W. Woodward, N. B. 
Burgess, Hobart Williams, Henry Lockwood, S. H. Battin, 
Seth Davis, and Almon G-regery. The society now numbers 
fifty families, about 200 individuals, and sixty communi- 
(^ants. The Ptev. Henry B. Whipple is the present pa.?tor. 
Their house of worship stands on the south-west corner of 
Washington and Liberty streets, and was consecrated for 
divine service on the 15th 'Of August, 1833, by the Right 
Rev. Bishop of the Diocese. In 1851 this society has nearly 
completed a new stone edifice on the north-east corner of 
the same streets. 

MetJiodist Episcopal Church. — A class is believed to 
liave been formed in what is now called the " Adams Neigh- 
borhood," as early as 1799, which continued in existence 
until a society was organized at the "Ridge," in 1803. It 
has not been ascertained at v/hat time the meetings began 
to be held in the village. The society held its services in 
the Court House until 1828, at about which time tlie pre.-^ent 
church edifice was built. This church is in a flourishing 
condition, and reported at the last session of the Black 
River Conference, 200 members. The present pastor is the 
Rev. James Erwin. During the year 1850 their house of 
worship was much improved. 

The author intends to make no invidious comparisons 
among many other able and efficient ministers of this deno- 
mination who have preached in Rome, by mentioning the 
Kame of the Rev. Mr. Ninde, who was stationed in charge 
of this people for a time. Ho was a faithful and eloquent 
preacher of the New Testament, and one who, not only by 



396 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAP. 

his public ministrations, but by his example and daily life. 
was peculiarly calculated to win souls. His praise was not 
only in all the churches of the Methodists, but in those of 
the different denominations in this place. His memory is 
held in "grateful remembrance" by them, for "the memory of 
the just is blessed." His Master called for him ; he was ready, 
and entered into His rest, soon after he left this station. 

Welsh Chi/rch. — This society occupies the edifice formerly 
in the possession of the Second Congregational Church. 
The church was instituted in 1847, and numbers at thi? 
time about seventj^ members. In doctrine it is Calvinistif. 
and in form of government Methodist Episcopal. 

Among the papers of the late Alexander Parkman, Esq. . 
of Westmoreland, was found a Colu77ibian Patriotic Gazette. 
of January 6, 1800, No. 23, a paper published at Rome, by 
Ebenezer Eaton and Thomas Walker. By a comparison 
with the papers published at this place at the present time, 
the great improvements in printing and typography in the 
last half century is most strikingly illustrated. 

I'nder the miscellaneous head, on the first page, is an 
article headed, " The Events of the French Revolution," 
giving a very concise account of the pi'ominent events of 
that sanguinary and bloody struggle. There is a note at the 
bottom of the page giving, in a brief space, the particulars 
of the beheading of Louis XVI, and closes by saying, " Of 
the Members of the Convention who voted for the King's 
death, forty have been guillotined, six have killed themselves, 
four have been assassinated, two were found dead in the 
field, and one died in irons ; in less than four years after 
that unhappy event." 

The probable reason why the paper was preserved was. 



XIX.] ROME. 397 

that it contained an account of the funeral of Gen. Wash- 
ington. It is from the account published in Georgetown, 
Maryland. The description thus closes: — "The sun was 
now setting. Alas ! the sun of glory was set for ever. 
No, the name of WASHINGTON, the American President 
and General, will triumph over death, the unclouded bright- 
ness of his glory will illuminate future ages." The editorial 
is headed, "Columbia Mourns." 

The summary of "Domestic Occurrences" thus closes: — 
*• A large number of respectable and wealthy gentlemen in 
the Counties of Montgomery and Herkimer, v/ith the co* 
operation of like characters in Schenectady and Fort Schuy- 
ler, have resolved on petitioning the Legislature, at their 
next session, to be formed into a corporation for the purpose 
of turnpiking the road from Schenectady to Fort Schuyler." 
If these respectable and wealthy men had been cautioned 
not to thus invest their capital, for possibly before their 
turnpike was half paid for from its tolls, a canal and rail- 
road would be built along by the side of it, and within forty 
years, taking all the business from it, so that they would 
petition to abandon their charter ; would they not have at 
least looked somewhat incredulous? 

There is a table giving the " State of the Thermometer, 
taken at Hamilton Oneida Academy," for the last half of 
December, 1799. The table shows that there were eight 
cloudy days, three fair days, one clear, one rainy, and one 
snowy day in the time. 

In the advertisements, Peter Colt informs the public 
that, on the 14th of December, 1799, he lost, between the 
store of Messrs. G. Huntington & Co., and his house, a 
newly-dressed calf skin, and a quire of writing paper, and 
that if the finder will return them to said store or his house, 
ho shall receive a suitable reward, and his thanks. 



3^8 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [CHAl* 

The following is the "List of Letters remaining in the 
Post Office January 1st, 1800." 

It should be borne in mind by the reader, that at that 
time the town of Western had no post office, which in 1800 
included all of Lee and part of Anusville. It seems that 
Mr. Isaac Lockwood, of High Falls, Black Eiver, had a 
letter advertised, also Mr. Stephen Wells, of Strickland. 
There was an attempt to have the town of Eedfield thus 
3iamed from an early settler, but the land-owner, Kedfield. 
prevailed in having his name affixed to the town, now so far- 
famed as the land of snow. It is therefore presumed', that 
if Mr. Wells ever had the perusal of his letter, he had to 
come or »end all the way from Kedfield for it. 

LIST OF LETTERS 
Ilemaining in the Post Office. Kome. January 1st. 18'30. 

A, 
Isaac Alden, 2. Rome. 

B. 

Capt. John Bat-es, Rome ; Matthew Booman, do. ; William Burch, 
do.; Mr. Burnam, do. ;. James Brown, do. ; James Brown, Brid.^e- 
water : Nathan BarlovT, "Western. 

c. 

James Cornish, 2 Rome. 

F. 

Robert Felton, Rome. 

G. 

Gideon Gilford, Rome ; James Gouid. do. 

H 

Gershom Hinckley, Rome; David Harmon, Great Salmon River. 

J. 

Nahum Johnson. Rome. 

K. 

Aaron King, Rome. 



xix.j aoME. 57ff 

L 

Laac Lathro;: Rome,: Solomon Lord, do.; Isaac Leckwo.vi Itigh 
Falls, Black River, 

M. 
Daniel Marshall, Rome. 

0. 

..Ibrihara Ogden, E,ome ; William Olney, Western.. 

P. 

Joseph Phips, Western. 

s. 

James Simpson. Rome. 

m 

San)iiel Tiibies, Rome. 

w. 

iiarritt. West, Rome : Wiliiam Wentw-orth, do. ; Stephen W eli3, Sir,'cL" ■ 
land ; Ezra Wheeler, Western. 

Matthew Buo'ivn, Jan.. P. M. 

TliC following obltuanes are from the Ro?ne Seyitind of 
•}'<L7Ji "~i5, 1851 ; — 



• D■.^;^J, in Rome, June 17th, Capt. Ebenezer Wrigtit. aged 72 
year:-:. 

'Oapt. Wright was among- the oldest settlers of the town. lie 
oame with his father in 1789, from Sharon, Conn., when there was 
but one framed house standing on the present site of this village 
Tiie family located themselves on the north side of the river in th'" 
neighhorhood, which from that time has been known as " Wright'a 
iiettlement." Capt. Wright became connected with the First Ohurcl;, 
in August, 1815, as did a large number of the most respectable in- 
habitants of the town, the fruits of the powerful revival of tha^, 
year. Since that he has remained a consistent and exemplary mem- 
ber, and highly respected and beloved by all his numerous acquaint- 
ance. After a somewhat protracted illness, which he bore with the 
m^st child-like acquiescence in God's will, and with a meekness and 
sweetness of manner which charmed ail who vrsited him, and in th'j 



40U ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cUAT. 

txe'rcise of s, lively and most comforting hope to the rest wliirh he 
now enjoys with the saints in light." 



"Died, In Rome, on the 18th inst., Mr. Edw.ird Potteh, aged 03 
years. 

" Mr. Potter was a British soldier under Burgoyue, but deserted 
from that standard in Canada, and came to this State, before General 
Burgoyne's arrival with the Army. Although he did not join tlie 
American army, he was ever through the war a friend to American 
liberty, which he lived to see established and to enjoj'^ during a long 
life. 



Addenda. — While tlie "writer was engaged in rcadi))g the 
proof sheet of the last form of Rome, he accidentally learned 
the following little reminiscence, which was deemed worth 
preserving. Captain Jesse Pierce, who kept a ferry across 
the Mohawk at the Simon's Farm, above the llidgc Mills, 
was appointed by Government, in 1789, to distribute to the 
people the arms and equipments left in Fort Stanwix, v^hich 
duty he performed. They were a gift to said inhabitant^- 
for the defence of this frontier, and it is but a few years 
since some of these veteran fire-arms were still in the hands 
of their recipients. This was the first military fippointmeiit 
in th€ town, 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 401 



CHAPTER XX. 



SANGERFIELD. 



This town was originally known as Township No. Twenty, 
of the twenty townships laid out upon the west side of the 
Unadilla River. Under a law of the Legislature passed 
February, 1789, it was surveyed in the summer of that 
year. After the survey, and previous to its settlement, it 
was simply known to the land speculators of the day as 
Township No. 20, of the "twenty towns." At the time of 
the survey it was included in Whitestown, Montgomery 
(Jount3^ In 1790 and 1791 it was purchased of the State 
upon speculation, chiefly by Michael Myers, Jedediah San- 
ger, and John J. Morgan, and a considerable portion of it 
was subsequently leased in perpetuity, and much of it re- 
mains on lease up to the present time. 

The following is a copy of the record in the case of Messrs. 
Myers, Sanger, and Morgan, upon their application for the 
purchase of Townships Nos. 18 and 20, and part of No. 19, 
now in the office of the Commissioners of the Land Office in 
Albany, under the law of March 22, 1791, for the sale of 
public land. Doc. Hist, of N. Y. Vol. Ill, p. 1072. 

" The applicatiou of Michael Mj'crs, Jedediah Sanger, and John 
J, Morgan, for the purchase of Townships No. 18 and 20, and the 
parts un.sold by the Surveyor General of Township No. 19, being 
three of the Twenty Township.s surveyed by the Surveyor General 
pursuant to an act pas.sed the 25th day of February, 1789. The two 

26 



402 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr;. 

first Townships, to wit, Nos. 18 and 20, at the rate of three shi'.iing;? 
and three pence per acre, and tlie parts of No. 19 unsold, as above 
mentioned, at the rate of three shillings and one penny per acre, 
one-sixth part thereof to be paid on the 1st day of October next, 
and the residue in two ecjual payments, the one-half on the 1st of 
April, 1792, and the reinaiiiing half on the 1st of January, 179o, 
being read and duly considered. (Accepted.) 

"Acrc;s — 57, 130 = £10,908 15 shillings." 



Upon the formation of Herkimer County, February 16, 
1791, this township was included in that county, and ir this 
year the first step was taken towards- its settlement. In the 
fall of this year, Zerah Phelps, then a resident of the " Green 
Woods," Massachusetts, and who had previously purchased 
lot No. 42 in this town, sent his hired man to build a house, 
which was constructed of logs, and stood about twenty rods 
south-easterly from the present residence of Jesse O Mills, 
and about one mile in the same direction from the " Centre." 
The house was erected near a primitive elm, which is yet 
standing, and this was the first tenement erected for a 
settler in the town of Sangerfield. 

About the first of March, 179.2, Minierva Hale and vafe, 
and Nathan Gurney and wife and infant, moved into the 
town from New Hartford, v.liere they had previously resided 
one or two years The first day of their journey they reached 
the Louse of Simon Hubbard, who lived on the place jiow 
occupied by his son Marinus Hubbard, in the town of ^lar- 
shall, where they remained over night. Their conveyances 
were ox teams and sled^v. On the next morning, the &;iow 
being very deep, they made short yokes for their oxen, and 
using their bed cords for traces, they drove them tayidrm^ 
and thus plowed their way to their new farms. The distance 
from Mr. Hubbard's was but about four miles, but such was 
the almost impassable state of their route (for road they had 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 40S 

none), over hills and logs, across and through creeks, swamps. 
and thickets, overlaid with at least four feet of snow, that h 
was quite night before they reached its termination. Mr 
Uale had purchased land adjoining the lot of Mr. Phelps, 
and Mr. Gurney had purchased lot No. 40, now in the vil- 
lage of Waterville, and a part of which is at present owned 
])y Aaron Stafford, Esq., whose father, Ichabod Stafford, 
noticed as among the earliest settlers of Augusta, purchased 
of Gurney. They both, however, proceeded to the house of 
Mr. Phelps, who had moved into it only two or three days 
previously, and here they remained until they built houses 
for themselves. The three men, their wives, and jGrurney's 
child, all occupied the same room, and for the best of reasons, 
ii was the only one in the house, or in the town. 

In the month of April, when the heavy body of snow on 
the ground began to melt, their proximity to the creek be- 
came a source of considerable annoyance. After a very 
warm day and night, for the season, upon awaking in the 
morning they found a portion of the creek had formed a 
current directly through the house. A sort of cellar had 
been dug, large enough for present purposes, under the floor 
in the centre of the room, of which the water had taken 
possession, and the pork barrel was merrily waltzing in the 
eddy. The women remained in bed while the men waded 
out and cut large logs, on which to make a fire. Baring' 
the remainder of the day, and until the water subsided, the 
women performed ail their bouse work while upon their 
bed?. Mr. Gurney immediately went to work upon his land. 
and was the first settler in Waterville. He built his house 
oa the comer where Erastus Wilbur now resides. In the 
month of April following, Benjamin White moved in, and 
settled upon lots Nos. 39 and 40, the farm most of which 
was owned and lately occupied by Amos Osboro, deceased. 



404 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

During the same year, Phineas Owen and the father ot 
Nathan Gurney settled on lot No. 40. In April and May 
of this year, Sylvanus Dyer, Asahel Bellows, Nathaniel 
Ford, Henry Knowlton, Jonathan Stratton, and a Mr. 
Clark, settled in the town. These were all the families in 
the town in 1792. Nathaniel Ford assisted in surveying 
this township in 1789, and moved on to the lot selected at 
that time. Of the actual settlers, he was the first man that 
came into the town. He is yet living upon his original farm. 
A very heavy frost early in the fall of 1792. which entirely 
destroyed the corn crop, put an end to emigration until 1794. 
Even those already in the town made up their minds to remove, 
if the ensuing season should prove as unfavorable and disas- 
trous. In the month of May in this year, a serious accident 
happened to Mr. Clark, who had taken up the lot lately 
owned by Oliver Robbins. deceased. It was a misfortune 
incident to the settlement of a new country, where a heavy 
forest has to be made to give way to agriculture. He had his 
leg badly broken and crushed by a falling tree ; this happened 
on Saturday afternoon. He was immediately taken to the 
house of Mr. Hale, which had but just been erected, and 
made as comfortable, for the time being, as circumstances 
would permit. As a surgeon was necessary, Mr. Hale started 
in quest of one, and rode the only horse in town, and that 
had but recently arrived on Mr. Clark's farm. He started 
by the light of a torch, which he carried, and his only guide 
as to the proper course, was the moss on the north sides of 
the trees. Early in the morning he arrived at Whitestown, 
but finding no physician there who dare perform amputa- 
tion, he proceeded to old Fort Schuyler, where he found Dr. 
Guiteau, who returned with him. This is supposed to have 
been Dr. Francis Guiteau, brother of the late Dr. Luther 
Guiteau, Senior, of Trenton. After examination, he did not 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 405 

wish to operate without the counsel and assistance of an 
older practitioner. Dr. Petrie, of Herkimer, was therefore 
sent for, and upon his arrival, on Tuesday, the two, with the 
assistance of Dr. Elmer, of Paris, amputated the limb. 

In the month of July in this year, Mrs. Zerah Phelps 
became the mother of a daughter, which was the first child 
horn in the town. What formed a somewhat peculiar co- 
incidence was, that Mr. Phelps, being so fond of border life, 
afterwards left this place, and was one of the pioneers of the 
town of Batavia, Genesee County ; another daughter, born 
there, was the first child born in that town. If Mrs. Phelps 
had happened to have lived under a like dispensation with 
the spouse of the Patriarch Abraham, perhaps we might yet 
hear that she was the mother of the first born of Wisconsin' 
Iowa, and Minnesota. Mr. Phelps was also a member of the 
first grand jury ever impanelled west of Genesee river. 

In the month of April, 1792, the town of Paris was organ- 
ized, and township No. 20 was included within its boun- 
daries. 

The year 1792 did not pass without its false alarms from 
the Indians. They were frequently seen, and sometimes in 
considerable numbers, while on their hunting and fishing 
expeditions from Oneida to the Unadilla. They had a well 
trodden trail, called the Oneida Path, which entered the 
town about two and a half miles east of its north-west cor- 
ner, and left it but a few rods west of its south-east corner 
Mr. Phelps built his first house but a few rods from tliis 
path. Col. Willett, when the conveyance was made to Mr 
Ford, remarked that he would give a warranty against 
every thing but Indians : those the purchaser must take 
care of himself. As yet, however, they had given the set- 
tlers no cause for fear, still prudence dictated them to 
carefully cultivate their friendship. 



4'06 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

One afternoon in the early part of October, all the men 
•in the town, eight in number, were collected together, con- 
structing a bridge over the Oriskany Creek, near where 
Bacon and Goodwin's woolen factory now stands. While 
thus engaged, they heard the hum of many voices, and a 
scout who was dispatched, soon reported that about 150 
Indians, of all sizes, were passing on their path to the 
TJnadilla, about 200 rods from where the men were. Mr 
Hale, knowing that if nothing worse happened, his wife 
would be sadly frightened, started for his home, but did not 
arrive as soon as the Indians. Mrs. Phelps, who had just 
finished baking Avhen she saw the Indians, left all but her 
infant, and ran' to Mr. Hale's, and on her arrival, Mr.?. Hale, 
who was equally frightened, proposed to run to the men. 
3Irs. Phelps, however, objected to this, on account of her 
being burthened with her infant, and at that moment they 
saw through the window a single Indian approaching the 
house. Mrs. Hale concluded that the two could conquer 
him, and if not, they would meet the worst as they best 
could. The Indian, who from his appearance she supposed 
to be the son of a chief, addressed her in the Indian dialect, 
which of course was not understood. Mrs. Hale, in haste to 
see the end of the matter, pale and frightened as she was, 
a.ssumed an air of unconcern, and said, "If you want any 
thing, use plain language, and say what it is ; if I have it 
you shall have it." Ho immediately responded, '• Bread," 
and was almost as soon supplied with all she had. The 
Indian took out of his belt of wampum a silver brooch, of 
the value perhaps of a shilling, and offered to pay for the 
bread, but this was refused, and he was told it was given 
him. He left with a smile upon his face, and was soon with 
his comrades, who were in full possession of Mrs. Phelps' 
house, and a shout of laughter, which made many broad 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 407 

acres of the forest ring, announced his arrival. Mrs. Hale 
said she presumed the merriment was caused by hi« descrip- 
tion to the Indians of the ridiculous figure she made when, 
pale and trembling with fear, she assumed so bold un air 
while addressing him. Mrs. Phelps, to her astonishment, 
upon returning to her house, found her own bread untouched, 
and every thing precisely as she left it, as if no one had been 
there. 

On the 20th of January, 1793, Seneca Hale, son of Mr. 
and Mrs. Minierva Hale, was born, being the first male born 
in town. 

On the 9th of February of this year, and about three 
weeks less than a year from the first settlement by Zerah 
Phelps, Col. David Norton and family moved into the town. 
From a diary, yet in the possession of the family, of his 
journey from Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont, to 
view the western country, the author was permitted to make 
the following extracts : — 

"May 28th, 1792. — Set out from Arlington to view the 
western country. 

'• June 1 St. — Rode to Whitestown, thirteen miles from 
Herman Flats, to James Ferguson's, from thence to Col. 
Sanger's, four miles, from thence to Samuel Ferguson's, two 
miles. Whitestown is mostly level, tlie soil rich, but poorly 
watered. The timber is maple, beech, elm, bass, hemlock, 
and butternut. 

Monday, June 4th. — Went to Clinton, and thence througJi 
the Indian lands, the soil of which is excellent, the ground 
being covered with nettles, and other herbage, four miles ; 
from thence to the twentieth township, which is thirteen 
miles from Col. Sanger's, by way of Clinton, and lodged at 
Stratton's. 

"Thursday, June 7th. — A rainy day, viewed in other 



408 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

parts of the town. Land rich, hilly, and well watered. 
Lodged at Dyer's. 

"Friday. June 8th. — Went to view lots No. 41, 38, and 
27. Level, timber mostly maple, with some bass, elm. beech, 
butternut, cherry, and two cedar swamps, with pine and 
hemlock ; a branch of the Arisca [Oriskany] running tlirougl> 
38. and a small pond on 27. Lodged at Stratton's. 

"Saturday, June 9th. — Returned to Col. Sanger's by 
Col. Tuttlc's [Paris Hill], and bought of Col. Sanger lots 
Nos. 38 and 27, and tarried at Samuel Ferguson's.'' 

The diary from which the foregoing is copied, although 
much discolored and worn, is very neatly written, as were all 
the writings of David Norton. For the first ten years of 
his residence, he was emphatically the first man in town. 
He was the first Justice of the Peace, the first Supervisor, 
the first Captain in the Militia, the first Colonel, and the 
first Postmaster after the post ofiice was removed to the 
Centre. In all the early enterprises of the town, religious, 
civil, political, and social, Col. Norton's name is almosfc 
uniformly foremost. All the first writings, deeds, contracts, 
school bills, and papers of the various kinds connected with 
the formation of all sorts of associations, are by his hand 
The correspondence between the Baptist Society and other 
denominations, was usually done by him. He w^as very 
methodical and particular in his business transactions, and 
was strictly honest in his dealings, and through life a. devoted 
Christian. 

The first marriage in town was that of Sylvanus Dyer and 
Hannah Norton, the Colonel's eldest daughter. They were 
married October 30, 1793, and Esquire Tuttle officiated in 
the ceremony. The bride (now Mrs. Dyer) is yet living in 
the town of Marshall, and says "it was the first knot of the 
kind the Esquire ever tied." Every person in town wa» 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 409 

invited to the wedding, and Mrs. Dyer believes there was 
not one who failed to be present. 

The season of 1793 was as extremely favorable, as the 
preceding one had been unfavorable. Corn, and all other 
kinds of grain and vegetation, matured and ripened in the 
greatest perfection. This caused a brighter era to dawn 
upon the town, and emigrants by scores greeted the eyes of 
the pioneers. In the spring and summer of 1794, about 
forty families moved into the town. Among these were 
Daniel Brown, Saul Smith, Thomas King, Daniel King. 
Solomon Williams, Samuel Williams, Justus Hale, Ebeu- 
ezer Hale, and Benjamin Dewey. Ebenezer Hale was the 
father of the late John W. Hale, of Clinton, who represented 
the county in the Assembly of 183G, and of Mrs. George 
Bristol, of the same place. Of these, only two are now 
living, Solomon and Samuel Williams, who yet reside on 
the farms they originally purchased and cleared. Mr. 
Dewey settled on a lot purchased of Col. Sanger. It is said 
lie was the creditor of a person, for whom, by an arrange- 
ment, the Colonel was to pay the debt in land. The Colonel 
accompanied Mr. Dewey, to point out to him his land, and 
took him firsD to No. 44, then a very repulsive, gloomy lot. 
but now quite productive. After viewing it to his satisfar- 
tion, Dewey felt indignant, and considered it an insult that the 
Colonel should seek to pay an honest debt with such a tan- 
gled, solitary waste, and turning to the Colonel, he impatiently 
exclaimed, ''Well, Colonel, if you have got any more land just 
show it, for I'll not take this bear's hole, any way." 

Mr. Zerah Phelps built the first framed house in town. 
and Ebenezer Hale the second. At this time no bricks 
were to be had for ovens, and as it is a proverb that the 
first settlers of a country hold all their goods and chattels 
in common, Mrs. Minierva Hale's bake-kettle was in great 



410 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHaP. 

demand, and as it was the only one in the settlement, it was 
for most of the time in requisition, with hardly time to cool. 
Mrs. Ebeneeer Hale, now residing in Clinton, says that 
she baked in it the flour and meal of forty-two bushels of 
grain, and mostly by the fire of burning log-heaps in the 
clearings near the house. This, by two bushels, beats Mr?. 
Hamuel Royce, one of the first settlers in Camden. The 
first summer she lived in that town, she baked eight barrels 
of flour in her bake-kettle. In the fall, Mr. Hale procured 
brick, and constructed an oven, when his wife in turn di.s- 
pensed its benefits to the neighborhood. 

The first store in the town was this year opened, by 
Messrs. Justus and Ebenezer Hale, in their dwelling house, 
where they also kept accommodations, for the benefit of way- 
tarers. This summer, Polly Dyer taught a school in Col 
Norton's house, which was the first kept in town. In this 
.summer occurred the first death, wliich was that of Sibyl 
■Knowlton, daughter of Henry Kuowlton. Her mother also 
died about a month afterwards. They were buried near the 
residence of Nathaniel Ford, where their remains, in com- 
pany with some others, await the last summons. 

]Jy an act of the Legislature, passed March 3, 1795, the 
township was erected into a town, by the name of Sanger- 
•tield, and was so named in honor of Col. Jedediah Sanger, 
of New Hartford. In consideration of its being thus named, 
•Col. Sanger agreed to present a cask of rum at the first 
town meeting, and fifty acres of land to the church of any 
religious denomination which should build the first house 
for public worship. 

]\Iany of the first settlers had selected New Lisbon as the 
name for their new town, and their disappointment and 
cliagrin were manifested by giving that name to the Congre- 
gational Society, which was formed soon afterwards, and thus 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 411 

they made the society with the rejected name tlie recipient 
of Col. Sanger's bounty. It does not appear that the Colonel 
was at all chargeable with the "unfair means" which were 
attributed by those displeased with the came, to those who 
had been instrumental in procuring it. His promise was 
honorably fulfilled, by furnishing a cask of choice rum for 
tt:!e first town meeting, and by conveying twenty.five aci*es 
of land to the Congregational Society, and twenty-five acres 
to the Baptists, the former being the first religious society, 
and the latter erecting the first church edifice. The two 
twenty-five acre lots were parts of lot No. 45. 

By the act organizing the town, it was provided that the 
first town meeting should be held at the house of Zerah 
Phelps. This house was on the farm now owned by Warren 
Kellogg, eighty rods east of his present dwelling. Agree- 
ably to the law, the electors of the town met, on the 7th day 
of April, 1795, at the house of Mr. Phelps, when, as the 
record informs us, " After the meeting was opened they voted 
to adjourn to the barn," so that in fact this first town meeting 
was held in Mr. Phelps' barn. At this meeting, Daniel 
Brown and Levi Carpenter, Esq., ofiiciated as cletkspro ton. 

David Norton was elected Supervisor, and Thomas Brown, 
Esq., Town Clerk. 

Soon after the town was organized, aad probably in 179G, 
a post ofiice was established at Waterville, and Amos Muzzy 
appointed Postmaster. He was succeeded by Col. John 
Williams. In 1808, the office was removed to the Centre, 
and Col. Norton appointed the successor of Col. Williams. 
Col. Norton held this office until the time of his death. He 
died universally lamented, in 1829. After Col. Norton's 
death, his son-in-law, Daniel North, succeeded him as Post- 
master, which office he has held, through all the different 
administrations, mem. co)i., until the present time. 



412 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Ill 179G, the number of taxable inhabitants in what is 
now Sangerfield, Avas eighty-five. Total amount of real and 
personal property assessed $4,475, and the tax upon it, in- 
cluding collector's fees ($5 35), was §108. 56. Benjamin 
White was the highest on the list, his tax being $5,04. 

In the month of September, 1795, Dr. Stephen Preston 
became a resident of this town. He was the first regular 
physician within its limits, and for more than thirty years 
enjoyed an extensive practice in his profession. He used to 
say that when he first came into this section, the enquiry 
was, "Where can I obtain a doctor?" but after a few year.s 
it was. "What doctor shall I employ?" The Doctor was 
somewhat eccentric, but notwithstanding, a man of sterling 
good sense and judgment. He held the office of Justice of 
the Peace for many years. 

On the 24th of March, 1797, the town of Bridgewater was 
erected from the east part of this town, the boundary be- 
tween them being the third quarter line of the township. 

By an act passed March 15, 1798, the County of Chen- 
ango was formed from the Counties of Herkimer and Tioga, 
and the town of Sangerfield was included in the new county. 

On the 4th of April, 1804, an act was passed taking the 
town of Sangerfield from Chenango County, and annexing it 
Oneida County ; and here the fact is accounted for, that in 
the census returns of 1800, Sangerfield is not found among 
the towns of Oneida County. 



RELIGIOUS S0CIETIE.« 



On the 5th day of January of this year, the first step was 
taken to procure the services of a clergyman, by circulating 
a subscription paper to pay for preaching. On the 14th of 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 413 

the same month, a meetmg was held to appoint a committee 
to carry into efifect the wishes of the settlers. David Norton 
was chairman, and Nath^an Gurney clerk. The members 
-of the committee were Nathaniel Ford, Ebenezer Tenney, 
and Justus Hale. The last vote passed was as follows: 
— "Voted that the above committeemen shall hire a minister 
four Sundays on probation." This was the first organized 
effort to secure preaching, and was the germ of the First 
Congregational Sodeti/. 

Between January, 1795, and March, 1797, religious ser- 
vices were usually held on Sunday, and occasional preaching 
•by the Rev. Mr. Steele, llev. Aaron Bogue, Rev. Mr. Minor, 
Rev. Mr. Moaier, and the Rev. Mr. Crane. 

The regular stated meetings were held as follows: — two 
successive Lord's-days at Col. Norton's at the Centre, and 
■alternately one quarter of the time at the house of Giles 
Mix, at the east end of the settlement ; and the remaining 
(juarter at the house of Ebenezer Tenny, at the west part of 
the town. Col. Norton read sermons one half the time. 
Col. Dyer one quarter, and Ebenezer Tenny one quarter. 

The Eirst Congregational Society was probably formed 
the latter part of 1795, or the fore part of 1796 ; the precise 
time can not now be ascertained. There is a subscription 
paper yet in being, dated September 8, 1 796, made payable 
to the " Trustees of the Society of Lisbon, in Sangerfield." 
The style of the same society, or corporation, has been 
variously written, as the " Trustees of Lisbon Society," 
" Trustees of Lisbon Congregational Society." and •• The 
First Congregational Church of Sangerfield." 

The church was formally organized as an independent 
body on the 15th day of March, 1797. It then consisted of 
eighteen members, eleven males and seven females. None 
of its original members now survive, and but very few of the 



■414 AKNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cMAP. 

congregation. Nathaniel Ford, who has beeu meiitioneJ aa 
chairman of the original executive committee, is still living 
lie ih a member of the church, now, but was not originallv. 

The first settled pastor over this church was the Kev. 
James Thomi)Son, who was settled in 1800. 

The following list comj^rises the several pastors, with the 
jear they severally commenced and ended their services: — 

liev. James Thompson. from 1800^ — l&Otl 

• Samuel llich, '• 1806— I81G 

'• Evans Beardslej, '• 1816 — 1823. 

'^ John D. Pierce, " 1825—1830. 

- 11. J. Lombard, '• 1831 — 1832. 
•• ¥. H. Avers, '• ' 1834—1835. 

- John B. Fish, '• 1838—1844. 
'■■ E. S. Barrows, " 1836-1837 
" Mr. Beecher, '• 1837 — 1838 

" Mr. Butts ; and Kev. Mr. Wilkius, who preaches- 
at the present time. 

In 1804 this society erected their house for puMic wor- 
ship, on the village green at the Centre. This green i.'* 
eighteen rods wide and forty long, and was conveyed to the 
Society for that purpose, the 1 7th day of October, 1 796, by 
David Norton, Ebenezer Hale, Justus Hale, and Oliver 
Norton. 

In 1823, about one half the church and congregation 
seceded, and formed the Firtii Prcsbyterimi Church and 
^Society. In 1824 they removed their church edifice to a lot 
a short distance northerly on the road to Waterville. lu 
1846 it was taken down, and the present building erected. 

The Baptist Church in Waterville was organized in the 



XX.J SANJEIlFiEI.D. 4 1 tr 

year 1798. Previously to the 14th of Aprii in this year, 
' the few Baptists in town Lad met and worshipped with the 
Congregationalists ; but " feeling themselves excluded from 
the privilege of social worship in that church," they agreed, 
" by the advice of Eld. Peter P. Hoots, to meet at the house 
of brother White Osborn, on that day, and consult as to what 
measures were best under the circumstances." x\ccordingly. 
on the 14th of April, eight persons met at Mr. Osborn's. 
which was on Stanton Parks' farm (where Sherman Bartho- 
lomew now resides), and formed themselves into- a society 
for worship, which they kept up, although perhaps not 
regularly, until the 19th of December following, when they 
met at Benjamin White's, in Waterville, and were received 
into the fellowship of the neighboring associate churches 
The iirst clergyman who preached to them was Eld. Peter 
P. lioots. The first regular settled minister was EM. Joel 
Butler, who commenced his labors early in 1799. In the 
year 1800, they erected their first house of public worship, 
on the " green," as the entire triangular plat was called now 
in the centre of the village of Waterville. This plat had 
been gratuitously granted them hy Benjamin White for 
that and other church purposes. This church edifice was 
taken down in 1833, and the present brick church erected 
o!i its site the same year. The " green" is now all enclosed 
and built over, and is held by leases in perpetuity from the 
church, at a small annual ground rent. 

Elder Butler preached about five- years, and after the ex- 
piration of his term of labor, there was occasional preaching 
by different clergymen. Eld. Joy Handy preached a short 
time early in 1806. Eld. Hezekiah Eastman preached oc- 
casionally for short periods, as the society desired. From 
1307 to 1814 it can hardly be said that the church had any 
existence. There was but occasional preaching, and no 



416 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

regular organized system for its support. There are no 
<!liurch records of this period, and the blank can only be 
tilled up with the recollections of those who' witnessed its 
decay and torpor. In June, 1814, the Kev. John Upfold 
assumed the charge of the church, and by his zeal and 
energy, restored it to unusual vigor. The following are the 
names of its pastors from that period to the present : — 

Kev. John Upfold, from 1814—1817. 

" Joel Clark, " 1817 — 1823. 

'■ Daniel Putnam, " 1824—1832. 

'• Chancellor Hartshorn. '■ 1833—1837. 

" "VYarham Walker, " 1838—1841. 

" David Wright, " 1841-1843. 

" John N. Murdock, " 1843-1846. 

" George W. Davis, " 1846—1847. 

'^ Mr. Pierce, '' 1847—1848. 

'• L. W. Hayhurst, '■ 1849. 

By the published minutes of the Oneida Baptist Asso- 
ciation, to which this church belongs, it appears that in 
>September, in the years 1847 and 1848, they had no settled 
minister, and that there were 107 members belonging to the 
church. This is a smaller number than they had formerly 
reported, which the author finds to be the ease with most of 
the churches of the different denominations in the county. 
Perhaps this may be mostly accounted for ia the number of 
new churches formed. 

On the 19th of May, 1823, the First Presbyteriwn Church 
in Waterville was organized, by twenty persons, who pre- 
sented letters of dismission from the Congregational Church 
in Sangerfield. The Eev. Evans Bcardsley became the first 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 417 

stated supply of this cliurch, wliieh office he held until April 
27, 1824. In the latter year, Rev. Daniel C. Hopkins was 
installed pastor, and dismissed in 1828. Rev. John R. 
Adams, was the stated minister, during the following year. 
At the close of his term of service, Rev. E. S. Barrows, was 
invited to become the minister, and remained in this capacity 
until February, 1833. The next pastor of the church was 
the Rev. Aaron G-arrisou, who was installed in 1833, and 
dismissed February, 1836. Rev. Salmon Strong, was then 
obtained for several months, as stated supply, and October 
5th, 1S3C, Rev. Joseph Myers, was installed pastor, and re- 
jnained in the office until Juno, 1839. Rev. John Frost, 
was next obtained as minister of the church. In j^larch, 
1843, he was removed from the field of his labors by death. 
Rev. Samuel W. "Whelpley, was installed pastor in May fol- 
lowing, and dismissed in June, 1843. .Rev. E. S. Barrows 
was again obtained as a stated supply, and closed his labors 
in April, 1845. In May of the latter year, Rev. A. D. 
Gridley was invited to become the minister of this people, 
and February 22, 1847, he was installed pastor." The 
above is extracted from the "IManual," recently published 
by this church. Rev. A. D. Gridley still continues their 
pastor. 

In the summer of 1823, they erected their house for pub- 
lic worship upon the " green," purchased and prepared for 
that purpose, at the west end of the village. In 1844, this 
building was sold to the Methodists, and a new one erected 
opposite the Bank, in the central part of the villa;ge. The 
old building is still standing ; but from the inability of the 
Methodists to retain it, it has fallen into the hands of a pri- 
vate individual. The ceremony of laying the corner-stone 
of this edifice took place in June, 1824, and a variety of me- 
mentos of the time, such a.s newspapers, American coin, etc.j 

27 



418 ANNAL& OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAi^ 

and a bottle of whiskey, were very securely placed within the 
head-stone of the corner. 

In August. 1840, the Episcopal Churchy at Watcrvrlle. 
was organized, and Rev. Fortune C. Brown was the tirst 
rector, and and continued as such during five years, until the 
fall of 1845. In the year 1842, this society organized as- 
'•the Wardens and Yestrymen of Grace Church, Waterville," 
and erected their present church edifice. The Rev. David 
M. Fackler took the place of Mr. Brown, and remained untiL 
the spring following. Tho Rev. Wm. A. Matson was minis- 
ter, from the summer of 1846, to June, 1848, and the Rev. 
J. H. Benedict, from September, 1848, to the present tiice. 

In 1843, the" Cougar Settlement" society, of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church was organized. They purchased the- 
old Presbyterian church edifice, Jn Waterville, but which wa? 
sold in the winter of 1848-9. 

In the month of April, 1 847, the Sccmid Metlwdist Epis- 
copal Church was organized. This society has a very neat 
house for worship in the south part of the town at " Congar 
Settlement," or " Congar Town," these names being promis- 
cuously applied to the same location, 

lo June, 1814, Joseph Tenny, commenced the publication 
of a weekly newspaper, in this town, entitled the '• Chris- 
tians' Weekly Monitor and Sabbath Mor?mig Bxypast" In 
1816, it was merged in the " CiA)il arod Religious Intelligen- 
cer^^ or rather the two papers were printed on the same sheet 
The Intelligencer continued to be published until 1833. when 
Mr. Tenny, the publisher removed from the town. 

A weekly newspaper, entitled the " Oneida Standard^' was 
published in Waterville, in 1833 and 1834. It was estab- 



XX.j SANGERFIELD. 4i9> 

iished as a political paper, advocating the interests of the 
democratic party, and at first was conducted with ability, but 
faRiiig into other hands, it was removed to Utica, and was 
soon afterwards discontinued. 



LOCATION, GEOLOGY, FACE OF THE COUNTRY, SOIL, ETC. 

The town of Sangerfield is situated in tlie southern part 
of the county, eighty-eight miles westerly from Albany, on 
the Cherry Valley Turnpike, and seventeen south-west from 
Utica. Its latitude is north 43 deg. 54 min., its elevatioa 
above tide water about 1375 feet, and 800 above Utica and 
the long level on the Erie Canal. It contains about 18,900 
acres. Its shape is nearly that of a parallelogram. Although 
many of the lots are of irregular shape, they were intended, 
as required by law, to contain 250 acres each. 

The east and west lines of the town run due north and 
south, the south line due east and west, and the north line 
south 87 deg. east. Its greatest length from north to south 
is six miles and 120 rods, and its breadth from east to west, 
four miles and 216 rods. 

The north-west part of the town reste upon "carniferous 
lime stone," a part of which is exposed, and quarried in the 
creek, below the woolen factory, in Waterville. The remain- 
mg and hilly portion of the town rests immediately upon the 
'• Marcellus shales," except the summits of the highest hills 
in the south and south-west parts, which are capped by the 
lower shales of the "Haniilton group." 

Tlie main easterly branch of the Oriskany creek, and a 
branch of the Chenango river, rise in the northerly part of 
the town, and for about two miles before the former takes its 
northerly and the lattfer its southerly course, they are uearly 



420 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cilAF. 

parallel to each other, and run to the west. The north and 
central portions of the town lying upon and between thes<! 
streams are comparatively level, and the land very excellent; 
for cultivation. 

The northern extremity of the '• great swamp " is on 
lot 27, about three-fourths of a mile west from Watcrville, 
and from thence its course is south-westerly, leaving the, 
town near the west '-quarter line." Its average width is 
about one and a half miles, and the length of the part lying 
in this town is about four miles. In its natural state this 
swamp abounded in the finest timber for building and fencing- 
purposes, it being very thickly and heavily covered with 
white pine and cedar. Its most valuable timber, however, 
has already disappeared before the axes of the settlers, it 
having furnished lumber for most of the buildings, and rails 
for the fences, for many miles around. A small portion of 
this swamp has been cleared and drained, and promises to be 
good meadow land ; but most of it will probably remain a 
waste for many years yet to come. If the early settlers of 
the county had exercised prudence with regard to the lots 
fitted by nature to be preserved for their timber, if they had 
oftener heeded the appeal of the song " Woodman spare that 
tree^^ we should not have witnessed a scarcity of the article, 
ere a half century had hardly elapsed from the time the " pale 
face" commenced his depredations upon its vast and heavily 
timbered forests. 

All the ■ east part of the town and that part which lies 
south-east of the Chenango creek which drains the swamp, 
rises into hills ranging from two to three hundred feet in 
height. In the southern hills, spring numerous tributaries of 
the Chenango, which, running northerly and westerly, and fall- 
ing over the rocks of shale, form a number of picturesque water- 
falls, in two of which the water descends about seventy feet. 



XX. J SANGEUFIELD. 42|. 

One of these tributaries heads in '• Bailey's Pond," a nat- 
ural sheet of water, lying about 200 feet higher than the 
.swamp, and covering about ten acres. It is said to have ■ 
been sounded with 120 feet of line without finding bottom. 

A tributary of the west branch of the Oriskany creek, also 
takes its rise in this town, in a swamp, on lot No. 13, and 
leaves the town about a mile south of its north-west corner. 
The hills which enclose the valleys of this creek on the west, 
and those bounding the lower part of the great swamp, form 
one continuous chain on the west line of the town, from the 
Cherry Valley turnpike to the line of Brookfield. 

The soil of the valleys is rich and productive, and the hills 
are excellent for pasturage. The staple productions of the 
town are corn, grain, hops, wool and cattle. The town eon- 
tains five houses for public Avorship, for the difi'erent denom- 
inations, heretofore mentioned, and fifteen school districts and 
school houses. By the census of 1845, the town contained 
2272 inhabitants. 

The village of "Waterville stands chiefly upon lots Nos. 39 
and 40 in thig town, but a small part of the village is how- 
ever in the town of Marshall. It is situated upon tlie east 
lu'anch of the Oriskany creek, at its junction with a small 
tributary which rises among the hills in the east and south- 
cast part of the town of Marshall. At, and below this junc- 
tion, the east branch falls ver}' rapidly until it unites with the 
west brajnch at Deansville. The power thus furnislied is the 
only durable water power in the town. This circumstance, 
very early in the settlement of the country, caused a collec- 
tion or "huddle" of buildings, known as "Sangerfield Hud- 
dle," and which by a steady and healthy growth has become 
the third place in importance in the county. In 1793, the 
former Colonel, but then Judge Sanger, built the first saw 
mill at this place. In the year 1794. Benjamin White 



422 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP, 

erected one on the site of the present -woolen factory. In the 
year 1 796, Mr. "White erected a grist mill near the site of the 
one now owned by Goodwin and Church. Within a few 
years afterwards Justus Tower, Esq., who settled in the 
place in 1799, built the grist mill which stands a few rods 
below. 

In 1 799, Sylvanus Dyer, removed from the Centre, which 
up to that time had been the village of the town, and built 
the house now owned by Mrs. William Page, at the west end 
of the village, in which he opened both a store and a tavern. 
This was the first stock of goods offered for sale in the vil- 
lage. In ISOl. Brown and Hewett. who had previously 
kept a store ou the road to Oriskany Falls, and on the hill 
where Nicholas Edwards now resides, erected for a store the 
building now owned by Fitch Hewett. The next store was 
.soon after opened by Robert Benedict, Esq., in the building 
erected by him, and which is now the rear wing of the 
Waterville House, owned by A. D. and G-. B. Cleveland. 
Esquire Benedict is said to have been very much of the gen- 
tleman, both in his manners and style of living. He was 
the brother-in-law of Doctor Nott, now President of Union 
College, and soon after he commenced trade, the Doctor, then 
a young Clergyman, made him a visit. Although Esq. B. 
was the son of a clergyman and brought up in the faith of 
"the most straitest sect" yet neither he nor his household 
possessed a copy of the holy scriptures. Fearing the reproof 
he would receive from the Doctor if his destitution should be 
discovered, when the family were summoned to worship, he 
borrowed a Bible of Col. Sylvanus Dyer, his next neighbor, 
and placed it upon the table in the parlor, so as to appear as 
his own. In the morning after the family had assembled 
for prayer, the Doctor took the sacred volume and very rev- 
erently opening it, and turning over its leaves to select a 



XX.] SANGERFIEL©. 423 

chapter suitable to the occasion, saw the name of Sylvanus 
Dyer written on a blank leaf, but which lie passed without 
.seeming to notice, and proceeded with his devotions. In the 
course of the day the Esquire returned the borrowed volume, 
and thinking he would not again be caught in the awkward 
dilemma, proceeded to the store and purchased a copy, and in 
the selection he strove for as near a resemblance to the one 
he borrowed as possible, and placed it in the same position 
in which the Doctor had left the other in the morning. 
When the family were all again present for evening prayers 
the Doctor took the new Bible and leisurely opened it to 
read as before. Probably the newness of the book caused a 
little suspicion in his mind, for after a close search on the 
blank leaves, he quietly and quizzinglj remarked, "Brother 
Benedict, I don't see Sylvanus Dyer's name here."' No de- 
scription is necessary of the confusion of the brother-in-iaw 
in his unpleasant pi*edicament. 

In April, 1804, an extraordinary freshet deluged the val- 
ley of the Oriskany. It swept every dam at this place, and 
caused a great destruction of property, and two estimable 
citizens, Justus Tower, Esq., and John Williams, jun., lest 
their lives by the flood. Justus Tower. Esq., was a man of 
great enterprise and had recently been re-elected supervisor 
of the town. Soon after the freshet, the village was visited 
with a severe epidemic which carried off a number of citizens, 
among whom was Ichabod Stafford, Esq., who has been pre- 
viously mentioned. 

In the year 1808, the Sangerfield Post Office which had 
been previously located in this village, was removed to the 
Centre. In this year or the year preceding, the village, 
which from its first settlement had no other local name than 
the Huddle, received the name of Waterville. In tlie fall of 
the yeaj-j on a certain evening, Doctor Sherman Bartholomew, 



424 ANN'ALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Joaiah Bacon, Reuben Bacon, Isaac Terry, and John Wil- 
liams, Esquires, were together ia the tavern kept either by 
Eli Hotchkiss, or Pardon Keyes, now the dwelling house of 
Doctor E. A. Munger, and antiong other topics, the name of 
the village became a subject of conversation, and it was unan- 
imously agreed that the village deserved a more dignified 
name, and that it should have one. After the suggestion of 
a variety of names, Doctor Bartholomew proposed that of 
Waterville, to which they all assented, and by that name it 
has since been recognized. It was not however generalij 
known by that cognomen out of the village, until the Water- 
ville Post Office was established in 1823. The name Water- 
ville was selected, because not only agreeable, but a very ap- 
])ropriate one. The writer would not. like a certain lady au- 
thor, intimate, that Whiskeyville would have been more ap- 
propriate, believing that pure water is more congenial to tlie 
tastes of a majority of its citizens than whiskey. 

In the year 1806, the village had thirty-two dwelling 
Louses and stores, and 300 inhabitants. It has now a bank 
with a capital of $ 100,000, five large dry good stores, an ex- 
tensive drug store, a large grocery and provision store. ;; 
large tannery connected with the boot and shoe-making, for 
foreign markets, an extensive copper, sheet iron, and tin 
manufactory, an organ manufactory, which employs many 
Lands, a large woolen factory, two grist and flouring mills, 
a distillery for the making of pure alcohol, three furnaoes. 
two machine shops, two taverns, and three liouses for public 
worehip. 

There is now constructed a plank road from tiiis place 
tiirough Clinton to Utica, and another to Utica, via Paris 
Hill, as also the Earlville and Waterville plank road, on the 
east side of the swamp. It has a select school for young la- 
dies, and an excellent district school. Tlie village contained 



XX.] SANGERFIELD. 425 

on the 1st of January, 1848. 1014 inhabitants, nearly one 
half the whole number in the town. 

The "Centre" is a small village situated on the Chc+rry 
Valley turnpike, one and a quarter miles south from Water- 
ville. The village contains one large store, two taverns, th-.- 
Sangerfield post office, and the Congregational church. It 
eo«itains thirty-five dwelling houses, and about 250 inhabitants. 

The name of Benjamin White has frequently occurred in 
the foregoing notice of Sangerfield. He was one of the 
fathers of the town, having settled as early within two weeks 
as any one in the town, or village of AVaterville. He was the 
liberal donor to the Baptist society, of the ground on which 
stands their church, and the triangular block of buildings in 
the centre of the village. He built the second saw mill, and 
the first grist mill in the town. In 1805, liis fellow townsmen 
elected him supervisor. A few years afterwards, he emi- 
grated to the town of Stafiord, Genesee County, where his- 
end was most melancholy and tragical. He had two sons, 
the eldest of whom resided Avith his father, with the larger 
portion of his moderate property, in expectancy. The youn- 
ger son resided in Ohio. It seems there was some dissatis- 
faction in his mind, because he had received so small a share 
of his father's estate. Some few years after the father had 
removed to Stafi'ord, he came from Ohio to see him, and while 
there, mentioned to some one, that he intended his father 
should give him more of his property before he returned. 

After his arrival, he went to the woods, where his father 
was manufacturing maple sugar. The elder brotJier was 
plowing so near, that he could distinctly see his ftither and 
brother, but not near enough to hear any of theii- conversa- 
tion. After a short stay at the sugar works, they started 
together for the house. 

Their conversation is but a subject for conjecture. The 



426 



AN?JALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. 



[chap. 



'older brotber observed, that when they started, his father 
walked as if excited. "When .they arrived at the house, as 
the father stepped up to the door to open it, the son took 
him by the shoulder, turned him round, and with a pistol 
shot him dead. For the commission of this parricide, the 
son was apprehended, tried, convicted, and executed. 

The following is a list of the several Supervisors of the 
town of Sangerfield, and the number of years each has 
served : — 



David Norton - 


6 years. 


from 1795 to 1800, 


Amos Muzzy - - - 


1 •' 


1801. 


Oliver Norton 


1 '^ 


1802. 


Justus Tower 


1 '■ 


1803 and 4. 


Benjamin White - 


1 '^ 


1805. 


Oliver C. Seabury - 


G ■' 


1806 to 9, 11 and 13, 


John Williams - 


1 '• 


1810. 


Josiah Bacon - - - 


9 " 


1812-14 to 20 and 28. 


Reuben Bacon - 


4 " 


1821-22-23 and 32. 


Samuel M. Mott - 


7 " 


1824-5-6-7-9-30 & 31 


John Mott - - - 


O 


1833-42 and 43. 


ErastusJeffers 


O i. 


1834 and 36. 


Levi D. Carpenter 


1 " 


1835. 


Horace Bigelow 


4 ^' 


1837-38-39 and 40 


Julius Tower 


1 " 


1841. 


Otis Webster - 


1 " 


1844. 


Amos 0. Osborn - 


2 " 


1845 and 40. 


De Witt C. Tower - 


O i! 


1847 and 48. 


John W. Stafford 


1 " 


1849. 



The following obituary of the late Daniel Eells, Senior, 
belonged more appropriately to New Hartford, but as his 
death did not occur until after the history of that town had 
been printed, it is given here. It seems, too, that he first 
settled in that part of Sangerfield which was formed into 



ax.] SANGERPIELB. 427 

Bridgewater in 1797, and it, therefore, is not entirely out of 
place here. It is taken from the TJtica Daily Gazette^ of 
July 21, 1851:— 

" Another old resident has fallen, deceased — in New Hartford, 
Daniel Eells, Senior. Born in Middletown, Conn., November, 1757. 
Died July 17th, 1851. Aged 93 years 9 months. A young man 
when the Revolutionary War commenced, he joined the army at 
Boston under Colonel Talcott. With others he labored all night in 
building the slight embankment the defence of which has since ren- 
dered Bunker Hill so memorable. In the morning his company was 
ordered into the country on a scouting expedition, and was thus 
absent from the battle. Soon afterwards, on the ocean, he was cap- 
tured by an English privateer and taken into Bermuda, where he 
was kept prisoner a long time. He was in the battle on Long Island 
and with Washington when he evacuated New York. After return- 
ing to Boston with the array, he remained in New England during 
the war. But owing to some informality in the evidence, Govern- 
ment did not see fit to grant him a pension. In January, 170G, he 
removed with his family to Bridgewater in this county, where he 
remained one year, and from thence to New Hartford (then known 
as Whitestown), where he has since resided. Almost a centenarian, 
he lived to see the wilderness bud and blossom as the rose. One of 
the few left who endured the hardships of that period, he lived to 
see his descendants enjoy the blessings he helped to obtain. And it 
is a remarkable fact that during a space of 93 years, he resided 
under the same roof with a sister deceased last December, at the 
advanced age of 96 years. He did not make a profession of religion 
until late in life, yet was always a constant attendant at the House of 
God, until the infirmities of age prevented. Though shut out from 
the sympathies of the world of late years, by age and imbecility, ho 
endeared himself to his friends and relations by his kindness and 
amiability of heart and life. Reverence to his memory and peace 
to his ashes." 



428 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [(JHAP. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

STEl'BEX. 

lii- an act of the Legislature, passed April lOtb, 1792, 
this town was created. The amount of territory included 
within its bounds would be considered rather formidable at 
the present day. Steuben was all that part of Whitestown, 
beginning at the mouth of the Nine Mile Creek, running 
thence north-easterly to the north-east corner of Holland 
Patent ; tlience northerly along the east bounds of Steuben's 
Patent to the north-east corner thereof; thence due north to 
the north bounds of the State ; and also from the place of 
beginning due west to the line of Oneida Keservation ; 
thence north-west along said line to Fish Creek ; thence due 
north to the north bounds of the State. First town meeting 
at the house of Seth Ranney, near Fort Stanwis. 

The town meeting was held on the first Tuesday of April. 
1 793; Ptoswell Fellows was chosen supervisor, and Jedediah 
Phelps town clerk. 

This shows that Fort Stanwix. at tliat time, was the cen- 
tral point of the town of Steuben, and that^ the inhabitants 
in the vicinity of the fort, came in at least for a goodly pro- 
portion of the " spoils." for Messrs. Fellows and Phelps 
were both residents of that locality. Mr. Fellows held the 
office of supervisor for three years, when, in March, 1796. 
tie towns of Rome and Floyd were taken from Steuben. 
The act also provided, that the nest town meeting for Steu- 



XXL] STEUBEN. 429 

hen sliould be licld at the house of Joshua Wells. The 
meeting was held, and Samuel Sizer was chosen supervisor. 
Mr. Sizer held the office for six years. 

In 1797, the town of Steuben was again divided, and the 
towns of Western and Leyden taken from it. This, it 
is believed, left this town with its present bounds and ter- 
ritory. The law making this division of the town provided 
that the next town meeting should be held at the late 
residence of Baron Steuben, deceased. At the expiration 
of the sis years of Mr. S. Sizer's services as supervisor, 
Thomas H. Hamilton was elected to that office, who held it 
for twenty-five successive years. He also, for a number of 
years, held the office of judge of the county. He is now 
living at an advanced age in the tovv^n of Verona. llu.ssel 
Fuller, who is yet a resident of the town, has held the offic<> 
for eight years. 

This town lies in an elevated position, and its soil is bettei' 
adapted to grazing than grain. It raises very little corn or 
wheat, although within the last few years a fair piece of 
spring wheat is occasionally seen. Butter is the leading 
article for market. The majority of the population is Welsli, 
who are not famed for the manufacture of cheese, but in 
butter they acknowledge no superiors. If their soil is less 
luxuriant, probably no section of the county can be found 
where the farmers are more prosperous or accumulate pro- 
perty faster than here. 

This town adjoins Floyd on the south. The line being 
nearly on the top of what is known as Floyd hill, a high 
ridge of land running east and west. Passing down a long 
and gradual descent into the central part of Steuben, there 
is a valley lying parallel with the hill. In this valley, Big 
Brook runs westerly and north-westerly, and empties into 
the Mohawk in Western, and Steuben Creek flows from the 



430 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP- 

valley eastwardly and south-eastwardly, and unites with Cin 
oinnatus Creek, at Trenton village. From this valley rises to 
the north the high land, known as Steuben hill. It riseb' 
nauch higher, and overlooks Floyd hill, and its ascent is 
much more abrupt. At a number of places, Hamilton Col- 
lege and other buildings in the neighborhood, are to be dis- 
tinctly seen with the naked eye. Starr's hill the most elevated 
point in this ridge, is the higbest land in the county. Its 
altitude is so great, that Indian corn entirely fails to mature 
on it. 

The visitor is at once impressed with the vastness of the 
landscape. No land within many miles is as high as where 
Lo stands. Westerly and north-westerly the view is almost 
unbounded. A large section of the Oneida Lake is to be 
seen, and a person well acquainted in Central New York, in 
viewing the location of different highlands, soon becomes sat- 
isfied that portions of seven different counties are distinctly 
seen. This section of Steuben hill received its name from 
Captain David Starr, one of the earliest settlers in the town 
who chose for his home this elevated ground. Capt. Starr 
held his commission in the continental army, and served 
seven years. He had but a durable lease of his farm, and 
was not as successful in farming as with his sword. After 
the death of the Baron Steuben, his executor Col. Walker, 
pressed the Captain for rent, and a suit was instituted for its 
collection, when the Captain became so irritated, to think that 
one of his old companions in arms should distress him for 
that which he had not the means of paying, that he gave the 
Colonel a verbal challenge to meet him at the grave of the 
Baron, with sword and pistol, and there settle the matter. 
The suit however proceeded no farther, and the Captain had 
further lenity shown him. In quite a number of instances 
and in different places, the people in the vicinity have chosea 



XXI.] STEUBEN. 43 It 

this elevated locality as a place of sepulture for their 
friends. 

In general the surface of this town may be termed stony. 
i3owlders of evei*y size and shape, some of which are of im- 
menss proportions, thickly dot the fields. By the patient 
persevering industry of its inhabitants, Welsh and Yankee, 
these unsightly deformities are being fast removed and laid 
into the most substantial and enduring fences. To the uh- 
practised.the task of removing some that are thus used, would 
seem Herculean. "Where the rock is entirely too large to be 
removed with an ordinary force of men and teams, a fire is 
built as compactly across it as possible, and none but the 
most stubborn can withstand the process for bat a short time, 
when the huge block from circumference to centre cracks to 
pieces, and like the fragments of a divided nation, the resis- 
tance of its several parts can be readily overcome, and the 
mighty mass that had unitedly withstood every eiFort, is 
scattered, never again to be united and cemented. 

Samuel Sizer was the first person who settled within the 
present limits of Steuben. It is, from the best evidence ob- 
tainable, believed he removed to the town in 1789, and came 
to superintend the Baron Steuben's farming operations, al- 
though he had previously been a ship carpenter. 

Captain Simeon Fuller came and took up a lot on Steu- 
ben's Patent, in the spring of 1792, and the next spring he 
removed his family into the place. He was born October 
17th, 1762, and is still living on the farm on which he first 
settled, with his son Major Eussel Fuller. The author 
called upon the old gentleman the last of August, 1848. He, 
was found in the field hale and hearty, reaping and binding 
wheat, lacking then but a few days of being 86 years of age. 
He served in the army of the Revolution, for which he re- 
ceivee a pension. By industry and economy, be has acquired 



432 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cilAr. 

a handsome competence for his declining years. He is a fine 
remaining specimen of the men raised up by Providence to 
achieve their country's independence. Captain Fuller Lought 
a part of his farm of Captain Woodruff, who is mentioned in 
another place. From some cause the article of sale from the 
Baron Steuben to Captain Woodruff, and by him assigned 
to Captain Fuller, was lost. Captain Fuller called on the 
Baron and stated the loss, requesting the lease of the lot, a.s 
agi-eed in the article. The Baron turned to his clerk and 
said, '• make out the lease, 3Ir. Fuller is hard at work, I henr 
the trees falling on the lot every day.'' 

The first child born in the town of Steuben, was Stephen 
Brooks, jun. The first couple married, was William Case to 
a Miss Piatt. 



(Fi-ora Frost's American Generals.) 
LIfE OF .MAJOn-GENEKAL STKU3EN. 

'• Sei'Vices such as those of Baron Steuben, duriug our 
struggle with Great Britain, are justly considered as among 
the very highest that could be rendered by any officer, iu 
that trying period. In this light they were regarded by 
Washington : and their best eulogy is a comparison of the 
condition of the American army at the close of the war. 
with it as it had been at its commencement. 

" Frederic William Augustus, Baron de Steuben, was born 
in Germany, about the year 1730 or '33. The history of his 
youth is unknown. He served with Frederic the Great in 
the seven years' war, possessed the entire confidence of that 
monarch, and became his aid-de-camp and lieutenant-general 
in the Prussian army. This fact is sufficient to establi-sh his 



"XXl.] STEUBEN. 433 

miiitcary character and knowledge of tactics ; and he was 
ever regarded by the Prussian government as one of their 
most able officers. After the close of the war, he filled 
various offices in Germany, principally imder the smaller 
princes, and tvas tendered a command in the army of Aus- 
tria, which he refused. At the commencement of the war 
between 'Great Britain and her colonies, he was in a condition 
of gentlemanly affluence. 

"In 1777, while on a visit to England, he stopped at Paris, 
for the purpose of having an interview with the Count St. 
Gefinain, the French minister of war, and one of his intimate 
friends. Soon after, he was waited on by Colonel Pagen- 
stechei", on behalf of the Count, who informed him that the 
latter desired a personal interview at the Paris arsenai, on 
matters of importance. It is well known that France was 
then secretly aiding the Americans, both by advice and mili- 
tary stores ; atid it was with a view of enlisting the Baron in 
the cause of freedorii, that the proposed interview was sought. 
At the meeting, St. Germain represented the ultimate pros- 
pects of the colonists as flattering ; that France, and probably 
Spain, would eventually aid them, but that their army needed 
disciplinarians, which want the Baron could well supply. 
These proposals were seconded by the Spanish consul and 
two French noblemen ; but the Baron refused to give a de- 
cisive answer until an interview could be obtained with the 
American envoys. The latter were unable to give the assu- 
rances required, and after abandoning his intention of visiting 
England, Steuben soon after returned to Germany. On his 
arrival at llastadt he found letters from the Count, informing 
him that a vessel was about sailing for America, in which, he 
could immediately embark, with a prospect of having every 
difficulty satisfactorily adjusted. Having received from Dr. 
Franklin letters of recommendation to General Washington 

28 



434 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

and the President of Congress, he embarked; on the 26th of 
September, 1777, under an assumed name, and after a rough 
voyage, hmded at Portsmouth, N. 11.. December 1st. 

"His first care was to address his recommendations to Gen- 
eral Washington, at the same time requesting admission intc' 
the service. The close of his letter is ■'.vorthy of preservation 
' I could say, moreover, were it not for the fear of offending 
your modesty, that your excellency is the only person under 
whom, after having served under the King of Prussia. I 
could wish to pursue an art to which I have wholly given uj 
myself Washington referred him to Congress, as the onl} 
body empowered to accept his services ; and accordinglj'. in 
February, he laid his papers before that body. A committee 
of five was appointed to wait upon him. In his interview 
with them the Baron stated what he had left to engage in the 
American service, offered them his services, without any other- 
remuneration than the amount of expenses ; but, that while 
lie expected no reward, should the final result be unsuccessful, 
yet in case of the Americans gaining their independence, he 
would expect an indemnity for the offices he had resigned iu 
Europe, and a reward proportionate to his services. Con- 
gress returned him thanks for this disinterested ofl'er. and 
requested him to join the army. 

"The American main body was at that time wintered near 
Valley Forge. The sufferings endured by the troops, their 
privations and diseases during that terrible winter, were long 
remembered as forming the darkest page of our revolutionary 
history. At sight of them, the astonishment of one who had 
been accustomed to the well provided armies of Europe, may 
be conceived ; and Steuben declared that under such circum- 
stances no foreign army could be kept together a single 
month. He was appointed inspector-general, and entrusted 
with the difficult task of forming from such materials au 



XXi.J STEUBEN. 435 

army disciplined after the European system. Disheartening 
as were these prospects, and heightened, too, by Steuben's 
ignorance of the English language, he entered upon his duties 
v/ith ardor. An interpreter was found, and the great work 
of giving efficiency to the army of AVashington commenced. 
This was something new to the sufferers of Valley Forge ; 
and the strictness of the old soldier, together with his perfect 
familiarity with the most difficult military movements, aston- 
ished even the commander himself ' The troops,' says Dr. 
Thacher, 'were paraded in a single line, with shouldered arms, 
every officer in his particular station. The Baron first re- 
viewed the line in this position, passing in front with a scru- 
tinizing eye, after which he took into his hand the musket 
and accoutrements of- every soldier, examining them with 
particular accuracy and pi-ecision, applauding or condemning, 
according to the condition in which he found them. He 
required that the musket and bayonet should exhibit the 
brightest polish; not a spot of rust or defect in any part 
could elude his vigilance. He inquired also into the conduct 
of the officers toward their men, censuring every fault and 
applauding every meritorious action. Next, he required of 
me, as a surgeon, a list of the sick, with particular statements 
of their accommodations, and mode of treatment, and even 
visited some of the sick in their cabins.' 

" The great services rendered by the Baron, as exhibited in 
the rapid improvement of the army, did not escape the notice 
of either Washington or Congress ; and at the recommenda- 
tion of the former, he was appointed permanent inspector- 
general, with the rank of major-general. By his great exer- 
tions he made this office respectable, establishing frugality 
and economy among the soldiers. In discipline, both of men 
and officers, he was entirely impartial, and never omitted an 
opportunity to prai^ merit, or censure a fault. Washington 



436 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr, 

speaks of him in the following manner'. ' Justice concurring 
with inclination, constrain me to testify that the Baron has 
in every instance discharged the several trusts reposed in 
him, VFith great zeal and ability, so as to give him the fullest 
title of my esteem as a braVe, indefatigahle, judicious and ex 
perienced ofl&cer.' 

"America was soon to witness the cifects of the new disci- 
pline upon the very army that had twice defeated hers. In 
June, 1778, the British army evacuated Philadelphia, and 
Inarched hastily for New York. They Were led to this step 
through fear that a French fleet might block up the Dela- 
ware, while Washington attacked theiu by land, and thu?^ 
they be forced to surrender. Washington pursued them and 
ardently desired to give battle. Steuben's opinion coincided 
with the commander's, and on the morning of the 28th a de- 
tachment under General Lee, advanced agaitist the enemy, 
and commenced the battle of Monmouth. In the retreat and 
subsequent rally of the advance, the Value of discipline was 
triumphantly displayed. The retiring troops were formed by 
Washington in the very face of the enemy, turned upon their 
pursuers and regained the lost ground. Such a movement is 
justly considered the triumph of discipline ; and the battle 
of Monmouth is one of the most remarkable of the war, not 
only as exhibiting the great talents of General Washington, 
but as a proof of the former invaluable though silent labors 
of the Baron Steuben. 

" On the 20th of May, Lord Cornwallis united his southern 
army with General Arnold at Petersburgh. The latter offi- 
cer had succeeded to the command in Virginia, at the death 
of Phillips. Previous to this, Steuben had found his situa- 
tion sb irksome, that he had asked and obtained leave to join 
Greene in South Carolina ; but he was prevented from doing 
So by the *a6w invasion of Cornwallis. He therefore estab- 



XXL] STEUBEN. ^ 437 

lished himself with sis huudrecl men at the state arsenal, near 
the source of James river. 

''• Having ascertained the Baron's position, Cornwallis de- 
tached Colonel Simcoe against him with five hundred regu- 
lars, who were to be joined in their march by Tarleton with 
two hundred and fifty horse. Steuben had no means of as- 
certaining his opponent's strength, and when the latter dis- 
played an extended front, and built a large number of fires 
at night, he was led to believe that the whole force of Corn- 
wallis had arrived. The Americans retreated, and Simcoe. 
after destroying the stores at the state arsenal, returned to 
Petersburgh. 

"On the I6th of June, Steuben joined La Fayette, who 
had previovisly been reinforced by the Pennsylvania troops, 
under General Wayne. On the 16th of July, the Marquis 
3uet Cornwallis near Jamestown, and a slight engagement 
iook place, in which the Americans behaved remarkably 
well, notwithstanding their great inferiority of numbers 
The enemy gained some advantnge, but did not pursue it : 
and soon after the Earl marched to Yorktown, which he be- 
lian to fortify. 

"On the 28th of September, the main allied army of the 
French and Americans, under Rochambeau and Washington, 
aided by the fleet of De Grasse, sat down before the place 
The siege lasted until the 18th of October, during which 
time Steuben bore his full share of toil and danger. His 
exact scientific knowledge rendered him extremely useful 
and to atone in some measure for hi.s former vexations, 
Washington assigned him a command in the line. His ser- 
vices are honorably noticed by that groat man, in the general 
orders subsequent to the capitulation. 

" After this happy aflfair, the Baron returned with the main 
army to the middle states, where he remained until the treaty 



438 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

of peace. In 1 782 lie informed ^Yasllington of the arrival 
of one of his former acquaintances, the Count Benyowzky or 
Bienewsky, whom he introduced to the commander. He 
was a Prussian nobleman, allied by blood to the renowned 
Pulaski, and had experienced most romantic changes. lie 
oftered to hire on certain conditions, a body of German 
troops, to be employed in the American army as a distinct 
legion, and each officer and soldier at the close of the war 
was to receive a tract of the public land. His plan was ap- 
proved by "Washington, after some alteration, and favourably 
reported by Congress ; but the approach of peace preventou. 
its adoption. 

'• Baron Steuben was appointed to receive the surrender 
of the posts on the Canada frontier, but the incivility of 
the British general caused much contention, and Steub^-n 
returned to New York. 

•• On the day that "Washington resigned his office as com- 
mander-in-chief, he wrote to the Baron the following noble 
and affectionate letter; — 



'•■Altiiough I have taken frequent opportunities in public and 
private, of acknowledging your great zeal, attention and abilities, in 
performing the duties of your office, yet I wish to make use of this 
last moment of my public life, to signify in the strongest terms, my 
entire approbation of your conduct, and to express my sense of the 
obligations the public is luider to you for your faithful and merito- 
rious services. 

"'I beg you will be convinced, my dear sir, that I should rejoice, 
if it ever should be in my power, to serve you more essentially than 
by expressions of regard and affection ; but, in the mean time, I am 
persuaded you will not be displeased with this fiirewell token of my 
sincere friendship and esteem for you. 

" ' This is the last letter I shall v>rite while I continue in the ser- 
vice of my country. Tiio hour of my resignation is fixed at twelve 
lo-day; after which I shall become a private citizen on the banks of 



XXI, ] STEUBEN. 4^# 

the Potomac, where I shall be glad to embrace you. and testily the 
great esteem and consideration with which 

" ' I ara, my dear Baron, &c.' " 



'■ The neglect with which many of the brave men who had 
bled in our cause were treated by Congress, will ever remain 
as a stigma on that body. Among these were Steuben ; for 
f?evcn years he made ineffectual efforts to obtain a notice of 
his claims, but in vain. He had left affluence and baronial 
dignity among the inonarchs of Europe, to waste his life in 
our struggle, and now when the great object has been reach- 
ed, he was poor, homeless, and unprovided for. 

•'• At last, through the strenuous exertions of Washington 
and Hamilton, Congress were induced to acknowledge his 
claims. In 1 790, they granted him an annual sum of twenty- 
five hundred dollars. Other grants, principally o'land, had 
3}een made by Virginia and New Jersey, and on the the 5th 
of May, 1786, the New York Assembly voted him sixteen 
thousand acres. Determined not to revisit Europe, he built 
a log house on his land, rented a lai'ge portion of it to 
tenants, and, with a few domestics, lived there until his death, 
excepting during an annual visit to New York city in the 
winter. His time was spent in reading, gardening, and in 
cheerful conversations with his faithful aids, Walker and 
North, who remained with him until death. Occasionally ho 
amused himself by playing chess and hunting. 

•• On the 25th of November, 1794, he was struck by paraly- 
sis, and on the 28th, his long and active life closed. He died 
ki full belief of the truths of Christianity, which for some 
time had been his consolation and support 

'• His bodj was buried in his military cloak, to which was 
attached the star of knighthood, always worn during life. 
His servants and .a few neighbors buried him. His grave 



440 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

was in a deep forest, whicli being . afterwards crossed by a 
road, occasioned its reinterment on a spot about a quarter of 
a mile north of bis bouse. Walker performed this duty, and 
afterwards placed an iron railing around the grave. A stone, 
witb the inscription, Major-General Frederick William Au- 
gustus, Baron de Steuben, marks tbe bero's resting place. 
A tablet in memory of bim was placed in tbe Lutheran 
church, Nassau St., New York, where be always attended 
when in that city. This was done by bis aid, Colonel North. 
who graced it by the following inscription : — 

Sacred to the Memory 

of 

FKEDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, BARON STEUBEN, 

A German Knight of the Order of Fideh'ty, 

Aid-de-Camp to. Frederick The Great, King of 

Prus.sia, 

Major General and Inspector General 

In the Revohitionary AVar. 

Esteemed, Respected, and Supported by Washington. 

He gave Military Skill and Discipline 

To the Citizen Soldier, 

(Who fulfilled the Decrees of Heaven,) 

Achieved the Independence of the United States. 

The highly polished manners of the Baron 

Were graced by the most noble ffeelings of the 

Heart ; 

His hand open as the day to melting 

Charity, 

Closed only in the grasp of Death. 

This memorial is inscribed by an American, 

Who had the Honor to be his Aid-de-Camp, 

The happiness to be his friend, 

1795. 

" By his will, the Baron left his library and one thousand 
dollars to a young man of literary habits, named Mulligan. 



XXI. J STEUBEN. 44 \ ■ 

whom lie had adopted, and nearly all the remainder of his. 
property to North and Walker. What a proof of his firm- 
ness tin. a friend, and his gratitude for even the smallest 
favors." 

An anecdote of Baron Steuben has been frequently told 
and published in almost as many different forms as narrators. 
The following is believed to be the correct version, as it was 
obtained from the former neighboi-s of Jonathan Steuben, and 
\rlio had frequently heard him narrate the whole details of .the 
transaction. After the treason of the infamous Benedict 
Arnold, when, to use the words of one of the early historians 
of the Revolution, "he was despised by all mankind," the very 
name seemed to grate harshly on the ears of the Baron. On 
one occasion after the treason, the Baron was on parade at 
roll-call, when the detested name, Arnold, was heard in one of 
thii infantry companies of the Connecticut line. The Baron 
immediately called the unfortunate possessor to the front of 
the company. He was a perfect model for his profession ; 
clothes, arms and equipments in the most perfect order. The 
practiced eye of the Baron soon scanned the soldier, and, 
'■ call at m}' marquee, after you are disniissed, brother soldier,"' 
was his only remark. After Arnold was dismissed from 
parade he called at the Baron's quarters as directed. The 
]5aron said to him, "you are too fine a soldier to bear the 
name of a traitor, change it at once, change it at once." But 
what name shall I take, replied xVrnold. " Any that you 
please, any that you please, take mine, if you cannot suit 
yourself better, mine is at your service." Arnold at once 
agreed to the proposition, and immediatel}' repaired to his or- 
derly, and Jonathan Steuben forthwith graced the company 
roll, in lieu of the disgraced name of him who had plotted 
treason to his country. After the United States had con- 



442 ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr. 

quered their indeperwlence, our hero returned to Connecticut, 
and on las petition, the general court legalized the change of 
name. A few years after, he wrote the Baron, who had now 
settled on his patent in this county, that he had married and 
had a fine son born, and that he had named him Frederick 
William. The Baron replied that when the son had ar- 
rived at the age of twenty-one, he would give him a farm. 
The Baron soon after paid the debt of nature, but hi.s letter 
was carefully preserved. A few years after its settlement 
Jonathan Steuben removed to this town with his family. 
When Frederick William arrived at his majority, the letter 
was presented to Col. Walker, one of the Baron's executors, 
who at on<?e executed to him a -deed, in fee of fifty acres of 
land, but which had been previously leased to Samuel Sizer, 
and as the recipient preferred the enjoyment of the land to 
the receipt of the rents, he purchased the lease, and at onc(; 
went into possession. 

Jonathan Steuben lived to become a pensioner, and died 
some fifteen or sixteen years since. His widow survived him, 
and has been dead but about six years, she also drew a pension. 

In tlie war of 1812, Frederick William went with the 
militia to Sacketts Harbor, where he was taken sick and died. 
For his services his widow received a pension. He was or- 
derly sergeant of his company, and with tlie name of tlie 
Baron he had seemed to inherit at least a portion of his distin- 
guishing fjualifications, for he was considered one of the best 
disciplinarians in his regiment. 

The following anecdote of the Baron Steuben, is copied 
from " Clark's history of Onondago " The author of that 
work having kindly given permission to have it and a number 
of other items relating to this count}', transcribed into this 
work : — 

''Mr. John A. Shaefifer was the first settler in ]Manlius 



XXI.) -STEUBEN. 44S 

village. He commenced his residence in 1792. He like 
many others of the early settlers, soon after opened a tavern 
and sold a few goods, to satisfy the very limited wants of the 
scattered inhabitants. In the year 1794, a son was born to 
jMrs. ShaefFer, which was undoubtedly the first Lirth in the 
village. He was named Baron Steuben, in honor of the fa- 
mous Greneral of that name, who about this time spent a night 
at the house of Mr. Schaeffcr, on his way out to Salt Point 
with General Stephen Van Rensselaei-, and General William 
North! The circumstances of this visit have been related to 
the author as follows : — 

••'On the return of the party from Salt Point, whether 
they had been to select a site for a block-house ; they spent 
tlie night at the house of John A. Shaeffer, Esq., ' inn-keeper,' 
at Manlius. The guests were considerably fatigued with 
their journey and the labors of their important trust, and re- 
tired early to rest. During the night there seemed to be an 
unusual stir about the house, and as the hour of midnight 
appi'oaehed, it still increased; and before morning transpired 
one of those unpostponable events incident to all prosperous 
and increasing families. Tlie Baron was greatly annoyed 
during the night, so that ho scarcely slept a wink. The fre- 
quent shutting of doors, continual tramping of busy feet, and 
hushed sounds of female voices, which were greatly magnified 
by the Baron's nervousness, and the importance of progressing 
events, kept his mind in continual tumult. 

" 'The house was built of logs, only one story high, with two 
rooms below ; the chamber being the size of the house, with 
only loose boards for a floor, and accessible by no other 
means than a ladder. This chamber was occupied by the 
distinguished guests of Mr. Shaefi'er. The companions of 
the hero of this tale slept soundly, but not so with the Baron. 
He often turned himself on his bed of straw, seeking rest and 



444 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

iinding uone, continually wondering what on earth could CX' 
cite such wonderful commotion, and he finally worked him- 
self into an uncontrollable passion, which could scarcely be 
restrained till morning. On the earliest approach of light, 
the Baron rose, vowing vengeance on all below. He ap- 
proached the redoubtable landlord in not the most agreeable 
humor, saying, your house is full of gossips and goblins, sir ; 
I hav'n't slept a wink all the blessed night ; you have a pack 
of dogs about you, noi,sy enough to deafen one. Sir, I repeat ; 
your house is full of gossips and goblins. Sir. your house isn't 
lit to stable swine. Give us breakfast, let us be off, and we'll 
not trouble you again. The Baron's rnge was at its height. 
Mine host was perfectly dumb-founded before his enraged and 
angry guest, and dared not lift his head, or hint the cause of 
the disturbance during the night. ' But soon to give relief to 
his troubled mind, a woman approached the angry Baron, 
who was still breathing forth thi-eatenings and storm, bearing 
iu her arms an infant, who had not yet witnessed the setting 
of a single sun, saying, 'here, sir Baron, is the cause of all the 
3ioisc and trouble last night.' The gallant old soldier instant- 
ly felt the impropriety of his conduct, his habitual good 
humor was instantly restored, his accustomed gallantry 
prompted him at once handsomely to apologize, at the same 
time begging ten thousand pardons of those around him. He 
tendered his most hearty congratulations to Mr. Shaeffer 
and his wife, and offered to bestow his name on the new 
visitant, M'hich offer was accepted, and forthwith the Barou 
drew a deed of gift for two hundred and fifty acres of land, 
from his domain in Oneida, and after breakfast, with his 
friends, went on his way rejoicing.' " 

The Baron thought very highly of his land in this county 
On a certain occasion while on one of his annual winter visits 
to the city of New York, some of his friends rather jeered 



XXI.] stfeUBfiN. 445 

him for attempting to i^ettle the mountains, up at the head of 
the Mohawk. The Baron was a little nettled, and at once 
retorted, " that it was the best land in the world, and he could 
prove it." The proof was challenged, and it was at onoc 
given as follows : " Why there is Capt. Simeon Woodruff, 
"who had sailed around the globe with Captain Cook, and he 
has bought a farm on my patent and settled on it, and sure 
if in all his voyage a better location had been found, he would 
not have done so." The argument was deemed conclusive. 

Captain Woodruff moved into the town of Steuben, in 1 790, 
and took a lease of a part of a farm now owned by Major 
Ru.ssel Fuller. 

Baron Steuben's Grave.— As noticed in his biography, 
the dust of this hero reposes in this town. In his will, the 
Baron provided that his body be buried in the place designated, 
but after bis death it could not be ascertained that he had to 
any friend designated the place. The only remark that 
could be recollected that had any bearing upon the subject, 
was, that he was once heard to say, that uilder a certain hem- 
lock, north of his residence,would be a good place to be buried, 
without however expressing any wish as to his own remains. 
In the absence of any other expressed wish, that place was 
selected, and his remains there interred. A few years after a 
road was laid out, so that the grave was included within its 
limits. The impropriety of such a state of things induced 
Col. Walker, of Utica, who was one of the Baron's aids in the 
Kevolution, and who was one of his executors and principal 
legatees, to remove the remains to a more suitable resting 
place. The place selected was in the centre of five acres of 
heavy timbered wood-land, and CoL Walker gave one of the 
Welsh Baptist Societies, in the vicinity, a lease of fifty acres 
of land, of which the five acres of wood-land was a part, the 
only rent and consideration to be paid, is the keeping said 



446 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CUAP. 

five acres substantially fenced forever, and no cattle or other 
animals suffered to go within its bounds, and the title to fail 
whenever the lessees shall fail in the performance of the 
stipulations. Up to the present time the society has sacred- 
ly kept its trust, the forest having the most primeval appear- 
ance, and the little tiny saplings as well as the largest beech 
and maples bear the impress, that hcrc^ man nor beast has 
trespassed. The monument erected by subscription, when 
the "nation's guest," La Fayette, visited this country, is be- 
coming dilapidated, and for the honor of the town and county, 
it is hoped that it will be shortly repaired. Tlie tablet is 
about seven feet by four, and nearly a foot in tliickncss, of 
the purest limestone, and kept in place, will witlisland the 
ravages of centuries. 



The following from the Home Sentinel of December 1 9th, 
1849. is considered M'orthy of being inserted : 

' WoNDERKui, Occurrence. — The most remarkable and almcst in- 
credible accident that we ever heard oi\ happened in the town of 
Steuben, in this county, last week. About three weeks since, Thomp- 
son Phillips, *a respectable inhabitant of Steuben, completed a new 
Steam Saw Mill near a piece of woods on his premises. It was kept 
in tolerable successful operation, till a week ago last Friday, when 
the boiler collapsed, and by the force of steam or some other pow- 
er,* moved bodily from the arch into Mhich it was set, and was 
carried wiih tremendous fury, the distance of twenty-eight rods into 
a piece of woods. In its progress it carried away the chimney of the 
Saw Mill, and struck and severed entirely from the stumps six trees, 
several of which were hemlock, and one, a sound beech, eighteen 
inches in diameter. One of the trees was severed into several pieces, 
and the last tree that was struck was broken into a log about thirty 



• The boilfr burst at one en I, ami it is now bDlicva 1 that the escape of ihe stcain 
from the end. on the reaction principle, eau-eil this powerful moemtiiioi it. — 
Auit: ;)£'.. 



XXI-L STEUBEN, 447 

feet long, v.hich wns driven six rods beyond the stump from whrcli it 
was severed. The wood that was in the furnace at the time of the 
accident, was drawn into the boiler through a hole broken into the 
boiler over the furnace, tighter than it could foe driven by a beetle. 

• Every tree except the last one severed, fell in the direction from 
which they were struck. There were six men in the Saw Mill at the 
time, no one of whom was injured. The exivlosion was loud, and a 
man at work in the woods near where the boiler passed, thought for 
u moment that the last trump was sounding. 

•• Every particular of the above occurrence happened as we have 
related, as hinidreds who liave gone a considci'able distance to see 
the ruins, can verify." 

TLez-e are no leading roads or public iiaproTcrncnts througfi 
this town. Four taverns at different times have been started, 
but there being little foreign aid, and the inhabitants too tem- 
perate and frugal to give them an efficient home support. 
lihey have all failed for the want of patronage. For the last 
twenty 3'ears Steuben, and to its honor it is narrated, has had 
no house where drunkards are manufactured according to 
law. 

The high altitude of this town renders the air pure and 
bracing. As a town it is remarkably healthy. In its eas- 
terly part there is a school district of thirty families. 
Within this district, and within the ten years previous to 
1849, there had seventeen persons died, over eighty years 
i)f age. Of these three were between eiglity and eighty-five. 
Ten between eighty-five and ninety, and four between ninety 
and ninety-five. A majority of these persons had resided in 
the district more than forty years, and quite a proportion 
were emigrants from "Wales. There has been but one crimi- 
nal conviction in the district, and that was of a person who 
Lad not resided in it two years. This district is thus partic- 
idarized, as a fair sample of the town. 



44S ANNALS Ot ONfilDA COUNtY. [cil.W. 

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

There are 'Seven churches in this town, six of tvhich arc 
Welsh and one English. These churches are of the follow- 
in"- denominations, viz. : two Calvinistic Methodist, two 
Presbyterian, one Baptist, one Episcopal Methodist, and one 
Union Society of Methodists and Baptists. These statistics, 
in connection with the number of inhabitants, show conclu- 
sively that the Welsh are a church going, and a church loving 
people. It is rather a national peculiarity of the Welsh, that 
they divide into small societies, for the support of a preached 
gospel, and still they well sustain them by their attendance, 
•subscriptions and contributions. By the census of 1845, 
there were six saw mills in the town, and no grist mill. 

There is a printing office, but of its business capacity the 
author is not informed. 

Population in 1845, 1,924. 



CHAP.] TRENTON. 449 



CHAPTER XXII. 

TRENTON. 

The first settler of this town was Gerrit Boon, a native of 
Holland, who arrived in Trenton village in 1793, althoiagh 
he had then been some time in the United States. He was 
a most amiable and worthy man, and possessed great perse- 
verance and patience in overcoming all the obstacles and 
privations attendant upon the settlement of a new and unex- 
plored country. 

He came from old Fort Schuyler (Utica) to this place 
anarking a line of trees on ground he selected for a future 
road, and on arriving at the junction of Cincinnatus and Steu- 
ben Creeks, he pitched his tent and named the place " Olden- 
barneveld," in honor of a great patriot and statesman of 
that name in Holland, a man of indomitable truthfulness and 
courage, who perished on the scaffold in 1619, in the eighty- 
second year of his age, in defence of the virtuous principles 
he had adopted. 

Mr. Boon was agent for Nicholas Van Staphorst, Pieter 
Van Eighen, Hendrick Volienhoven, Aernout Van Beefting, 
Volrave Van Herkelom, of Amsterdam, Holland, known as 
the Holland Land Company, and who with Jacob Van Stap- 
horst, Christian Van Eighen, Isaac Ten Cate, Christiana 
■Coster, widow of Peter Stadnitski, and Jan Stadnitski, cit- 
izens of Netherlands, were the original '• Holland land 
"Owners." Mr, Boon, either alone, or in connection with Her 

29 



150 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

irnin LeRoy, William Bayard, James McEvers, Paul Busti, 
or some of them, purchased and held in trust for the owners 
in Holland, various considerable tracts of land in this section, 
aside from the immense possessions of the company in the 
western part of this State, and among which were, 46.057 
acres of Oouthoudt's Patent, 6,026 acres of Steuben's Patent. 
1,200 acres of Machin's Patent, 23,609 acres of Servis's 
Patent, etc., the latter Patent mostly lying in this town. 
As the early conveyances affecting these lands are not all re- 
corded in this County, the author has not been able to give- 
A "chain of title" to them. 

Servis's Patent was granted in 1768, by Sir Henry Moore, 
ffovernor of this colony, to Peter Servis and twenty-four 
others, tenants, and really for the benefit of Sir William John- 
son, and like most of the large colonial grants was made in 
the first instance to obscure individuals aud by them trans- 
ferred to a government favorite, or officer of rank, to evade 
the instructions of the " Lords' Commissioners for Trade and 
Plantations." — (Vide Cosby's Manor, Utica.) 

Sir William Johnson prepared a great feast by j-oasting 
;in ox whole, etc., to which he invited Peter Servis and his 
twenty-four colleagues, besides a large number of other in- 
habitants of Johnstown and vicinity, with their wives aud 
children, and when all were in the best of spirits he procured 
a transfer of the patent to himself, he having doubtless fur- 
nished the money and exerted the influence necessary for its 
procurement. After the death of Sir William, and prior to 
the llevolution, his son Sir John Johnson and other heirs 
sold Servis' Patent to ■ several gentlemen residing in New 
York, so that it was not confiscated with the property of the 
Johnson's in the Mohawk Valley, and between 1790 and 
1 800, this and the various other tracts were conveyed to 
Boon and others in trust, and on the 24th of March, 1801, 



XXII.] TRENTON. 451 

Messrs. LeRoy, Bayard and Boon, conveyed Servis' Patent 
directly to the Holland CompanJ^ Mr. Boon died a few 
years since at Amsterdam, in Holland, whither he returned 
many years since, after closing up his land agency in a man- 
ner most satisfactory to his employers. 

■ A characteristic anecdote is told of the late Peter Smith, 
ia connection with the purchase of Servis' Patent, by Mr. 
Boon. After negotiating with the owners of the Patent in 
New York, Mr. Boon came to this then entire wilderness to 
es-anine as to the quality of the land. Having done so to 
his satisfaction, he arrived at the village of old Fort Schuyler 
on Saturday evening, on his way to New York, and put mp 
with Mr. Smith, with whom he intended to remain over 
Sunday. After giving Mr. Smith his views as to the land 
and the price per acre at which he could purchase it, and 
after the usual chit chat of the evening, Mr. Boon retired for 
the night. On Sunday morning he was surprised at the non- 
appearance of Mr. Smith, and what was singular his family 
could not account for his mysterious absence. The day 
wore away, and, although the family manifested no signs of 
alarm, yet no explanation of the occurrence was given, and 
early on Monday Mr. Boon sat out on his slow and toilsome 
journey for home. Immediately upon arriving in the city 
he called upon the proprietors of the Patent to complete the 
purchase, and it is easy to judge of his surprise when he was 
informed that Sei-vis' Patent had been sold to Peter Smith 
on the day preceding. The story ends with an insinuation 
that Mr. Smith received a bonus of about $10,000 for his 
interest in the land. 

At the commencement of the Revolution, Sir John John- 
son concealed the title-deeds, and other valuable papers, be- 
longing to the family, by burying the strong box containing 
them, in the garden of Johnson Hall, and several years after- 



452 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHaP, 

wards, when exhumed they were found destroyed, having be 
come wet and mouldy, and therefore illegible. This fact 
having become public, Peter Servis, the original patentee, be- 
ing still alive in the Mohawk Valley, presuming that the 
transfer to Sir William could not be proved, commenced an 
action of ejectment against Mr. Boon and others, to recover 
the land, but failed in the attempt, as parol proof of the trans- 
fer, was admitted upon the trial. 

Among the early settlers of this section of the town, was 
Col. Adam G. Mappa and his family, Doctor Vander Kemp, 
both emigrants from Holland, the latter from the city of 
Leyden. Doctor Vander Kemp first settled near Esopus, 
now Kingston, Ulster County, in 1788. In 1793, he changed 
his residence to the shores of the Oneida Lake, and soon 
after to Oldenbarneveld, where he enjoyed the society of 
Col. Mappa's family. Col. Mappa succeeded Mr. Boon in 
the laud agency, and Mr. John J. Vander Kemp, a son of the 
Doctor, early in life succeeded H. J. Huidekoper, Esq., who 
was appointed chief clerk in the general agency, Philadel- 
phia. In 1804, Esquire Huidekoper accepted the agency of 
the Holland Land Company's lands, in Pennsylvania, and re- 
moved to the Alleghany river, when young Vander Kemp was 
called to the chief clerkship in Philadelphia In 1824, upon 
the decease of Mr. Busti, Mr. Vander Kemp succeeded him 
in the general agency. Thus clerk in Col. Mappa's office, 
chief clerk, and general agent, he was almost half a century 
engaged in the concerns of the Holland Land Company. 

But to return to Oldenbarneveld. The first settlers en- 
dured all the hardships and deprivations incident to a border 
life at that period. The nearest mill was sixteen miles dis- 
tant, and in the then state of the roads, it waa a full three 
days' journey to go and return. When the candles were all 
expended, and a supply not forth-coming, they had to substi- 



XXI!. TRENTON. 



A51 



tute a saucer of lard, with a strip of linen for a wick, thus 
forming a lamp around which they would sit, and enjoy life 
us well as with the most costly lamp, filled with the best of 
sperm, to grace their table. In the best of weather and in 
the driest portion of the season, twelve hours were quick 
time in which to perform the journey to old Fort Schuyler. 
This, it must be recollected, was before plank roads were in- 
vented. 

Among the first settlers of Trenton, were Judge John 
»Storrs, Col. Kobert Hicks, Peter Schuyler, John P. Little, 
Cheny Glarrett, and William Rollo. Ijike all first settlers, 
they had their privations, joys and sorrows, in common. An 
instance of this, and of the energy of the men of those days, 
by which a house, as if by magic appeared to grace their vil- 
lage, is related. A new settler had arrived with his family, 
but no domicil was ready for their accommodation, and noth- 
ing in preparation for its erection. Trees, it is true, were 
growing in their native forest, " decked in green," and this 
was all. The mornino; after the arrival all hands turned out 
to give the new settler a benefit, some logs were cut to be 
taken to the mill for boards, others were employed in prepar- 
ing a skeleton frame, and ere night had spread her " sable 
curtains," the house had been framed and raised, the boards 
^awed, the building entirely enclosed, and the family had 
'•moved in," to dream their future fortunes, the first night in 
their new home. It is probable there were neither plastering, 
paint nor glazing, but contentment made it equal to a palace. 

Mr. Boon while he continued his agency ereoted a saw 
and grist-mill, so that in a short time, comforts and accom- 
modations clustered about them. 

The first town meeting of the inhabitants of Trenton, was 
held April 4th, 1797; at which Col. Adam G. Mappa was 
chosen supervisor, and John P. Little, town clerk. During 



454 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the next three years, Judge John Storrs held the office of 
supervisor ; for the next ten, Peter Schuyler; the next eighteen 
(with the exception of one year) William KoUo, and then 
Judge Storrs held the office again for eight years. 

Of the first settlers of this town, Miss Sophia, daughter of 
Col. Mappa, the widow of Judge Storrs, and Cheny Ciarrett 
are all who now survive. 

To the scientific geologist there is no more interesting sec- 
tion of the State than this town. Limestone underlaid with 
slate, is found in almost all parts of it, and is of the very best 
and purest quality when burned for building purposes. The 
produce of many quarries also is easily cut, and is thus ex- 
tensively used in the erection of build ing.s. The State Asy- 
lum, at Utica, is built of Trenton limestone, quarried near 
Stittsville, a small village intersected by the line between this 
town and Marcy This stone is formed of myriads of shells, 
corals, etc., etc. In different parts of the town, as the limited 
supply of timber suitable for fences, becomes exhausted, the 
farmers are annually quarrying from their inexhaustible beds, 
and adding to the walls which are eventually to enclose and 
divide their fields. 

In agriculture this town maintains an equal position among 
her sister towns in the county. When the town was new. 
winter wheat was extensively raised, but as the land becomes 
partially worn, it is winter killed, to so great an extent that 
its culture has been abandoned and spring Avheat substituted, 
and this has been nearly driven from the productions of the 
town by 4he insect. Indian corn, oats, barlej-, rye, potatoes, 
carrots and ruta-bagas yield well, and are as sure to bring as 
good a return for the labor bestowed, as in most sections in 
the county. There is a large proportion of good land in 
Trenton, and among her farmers she numbers many of the 
most enterprising, persevering and successful of that class in 



XXII.] TRENTON. 455 

this section of the country. Improvement and onward is 
their motto. This town furnishes a number of active and 
influential members of the Oneida County Agricultural So- 
ciety. More attention has of late been paid to the breeding 
of good stock of all kinds, than formerly. The soil is well 
adapted to grazing, and large quantities of butter and cheese 
are made annually and sent to market. 

Trenton Falls. — These falls, now so celebrated, were 
first brought into notice by the Rev. John Sherman, by pub- 
lications in different papers, and a pamphlet giving a most 
glowing description of tliem. " They are situated on West 
Canada Creek, in N. lat. 43 deg. 23 min., 14 miles north of Uti- 
ca,at which place every facility can be had for a ride to Trenton 
Falls, where a large and commodious house is erected for tlie 
accommodation of visitors." The Indian name of these falls is 
Cuy-a-hora, signifying " fall of the glancing waters." This 
creek is the main branch of the Mohawk river, and interlock? 
with the Black Kiver upon the summit elevation and at one 
point the two stream.s are but three-fourths of a mile a,part, 
and can very readil}'^ be turned into the same channel. Tlic 
West Canada Creek has chosen its course along the highlands, 
making its way on the backbone of the country, and emptie> 
into the Mohawk at Herkimer. Mr. Sherman thus speaks 
of the approach to the falls : " From the door yard, you step 
;it once into the forest, and walking only twenty rods strike 
the bank at the place of descent." Passing down the stairs, 
•■you land upon a broad pavement, level with tike water's etlg«, 
a furious rapid being in front that has cut down the rock still 
deeper ; being now on the pavement, the river Styx at your 
feet, perpendicular walls of solid rocks on each side, and the 
narrow zone of sky far over head, your feelings are at once 
excited, you have passed into a subterranean world. The 



456 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

first impression is astonishment at the change. But recov- 
ering instantly, your attention is forthwith attracted to the 
magnificence, the grandeur, the beauty and sublimitiy' of the 
scene. You stand and pause. You behold the operations 
of incalculable ages. You are thrown back to antediluvian 
times. The adamantine rock has yielded to the flowing 
water that has formed the wonderful chasm. You tread on 
petrifactions or fossil organic remains imbedded in the four- 
hundreth stratum which preserves the forms and occuj^ies the 
places of beings once animated like yourselves, each stratum 
having been the deposit of a supervening flood, that happened 
successively, Eternity alone knows when!" 

These falls have not the sublimity or grandeur of Niagara, 
where every thing of cascade is formed upon the grandest 
scale. There perched on Table Pcock, the visitor at one view 
can witness the mighty roll and tumble of the father of cat- 
aracts. Not so at Trenton. Here days spent in viewing 
and reviewing the succession of wonders and the beauties of 
the several cascades, rapids and eddies, and the scenery in 
which they are involved, will hardly satisfy the eyes of the 
tourist. There are three principal falls, the lower of thirty - 
seven, the middle of eleven, and the upper of forty-eight 
feet, and these with the lesser cascades and rapids immedi- 
ately above, below and intervening, make a descent of 1 09 
feet. 

In 1822, Mr. Sherman erected a"Eural Retreat for the 
accommodation of visitors at the Falls. His receipts for the 
tirst year were $187,35. 

The following beautiful lines were sketched at the Falls 
by the gentleman whose name is affixed, and presented to a 
Miss M. S., of "Waterville, in this County, who was one of 
Ihe party, and who fuvnishcd a copy for this work. 



XXII. J TRENTON. 457 

MOONLIGHT REVERIES. 

There is a pleasure iu the pithless woods; 
There is a rapture on the lontly shore ; 
Tliere is society where none intrudes, 
By the deep sea and music in the roar.— Byron. 

Kight's shadows thicken and the stars look througti. 
Their eth'ry veil of'soft and cloudless blue, 
While the pale moon with clear and steady ray 
Usurps the throne, where sat the god of day ; 
Here, as I stand upon this rugged shore. 
Nought breaks the stillness, save the mighty roar 
Of Trenton's waters, as they rush along, 
O'er craggy steeps, and jagged rocks among, 
Foaming and lashing in their ceaseless flow, 
To reach in thimderthe abyss below. 

Flow on, proud stream ! — flow on, unfettered river, 
And peal aloud great Nature's anthem ever, 
And you, ye hills, in living verdure drcst, 
Ye giant rocks, no human foot e'er prest ! 
Aye stand, 'till Time to ashes shall have trod 
All earthly emblems of the power of God. 

Ye flow'ry banks, so beauteously array'd ! 

Ye winding Avalks, through wliich but once I've stray'd:, 

If ne'er again among j^e I shall rove, 

In the sweet presence of the hearts Hove, 

Still on my mind, till life's brief hour is o'er, 

Your charms are written — fadeless everm,ore ; 

Yc maddened Avaters ! as ye rush along, 

Years will re-echo your undying song, 

And tho' afar my footsteps wander free, 

My pulse will quicken at the thought of thee. 

J, E. Vail, New Yoriu 
Trenton Falls, August, 1845. 



458 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Among the immense numbers who have visited the falls 
from the four quarters of the world, within the past thirty 
years, sevei'al most heart-rending accidents have occurred, 
showing the necessity of care, while viewing these beautiful 
and wonderful works of nature. Such accidents occur too 
frequently from venturing too far and attempting to reach 
points almost impossible of access, and at the utmost risk 
of life. 

Accidents at Trenton Falls. — On the 21st of July, 
1S27, a numerous party from New York visited the falls, and 
among the number were several members of the family of 
John Suydam, Esq., of that city. Miss Eliza Mesier 8uy- 
dam, aged seventeen years, a daughter of Mr. 8uydam, and 
n, young gentleman, a cousin, were in advance of the party, 
and upon arriving at the projecting point just below the fall, 
the second above the refreshment house, and since known as 
the "Suydam fall," Miss Suydam passed around alone, and 
in a moment her cousin was made aware of her sad fate by 
seeing her bonnet borne down the foaming rapid. The body 
v/as not found until one or two days had elapsed, and was 
then taken to Utica for burial. 

On the 2d of August, 183©, Charles E. Bill, son of Dr. 
]yill of PLcmsen, visited the falls with a sistei', two ladies, his 
■cousins, and an uncle. While assisting the ladies around a 
point of reck a short distance above the lower fall, he in- 
cautiously stepped into the edge of the current, when his feet 
slipped and he was hurried in a standing potition over the 
frightful cataract, a fall of about 40 feet. As he passed out 
of sight, he waved with his hand a final adieu to those who 
gazed in helpless agony upon his certain and rapid progress 
down the torrent, while his features showed the full realiza- 



XXII.] TRENTON. 459 

tion of liis terrible fate. Mr. Bill's age was about 21. he was 
a student at the Fairfield Medical College, and was a young 
man of excellent character and fine promise, and his death 
was mourned by an extensive circle of relatives and friends. 

On the 15th of July, 1836, while Mr. Herman Thorne, a 
celebrated mUlionairc of New York, then recently returned 
from Paris, with his family, was on a visit to the falls, a young 
daughter; Jliss Zerlina, was drowned at the same place where 
Miss Suydam found a watery grave. The following account 
of the catastrophe is.copied from a New York paper : 

" On Friday last, Mr. Thorne was carefully conducting 
his wife over a narrow pass, having this fated daughter, Zer- 
lina, in his arms, when a faithful servant stepped up and 
begged permission to take charge of the little girl. At first 
jMr. Thorne declined, but was finally induced by the difficul- 
ty of the pass, to give the child over to the servant. He had 
scarcely done so, and turned again to his wife, when a scream, 
the last ever uttered by the lovely child, burst upon the ear, 
and he looked around to see the servant struggling in the 
boiling eddies, and to feel — that his own cherished daughter 
he was to behold no more. The man had slipped upon the 
treacherous rocks, and with his charge was precipitated into 
tlie whirling stream. The little girl instantly disappeared. 
The man sustained himself until a stick was held forth, by 
which he was drawn from the water. Thus perished before 
the eyes of her parents — in the early blossom of life, ere sin 
Iiad touched, or sorrow faded — Zerlina Thorne, in the eighth 
year of her age — described to us, by one who is himself a 
father and has known affliction, as a child of such uncommon 
loveliness, as to attract the regard of all who approached her." 

On the 2d of August, 1849, a party of sis ladies and gen- 



460 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. [CIIAP. 

tlciuen were visiting the falls, having arrived the day prece- 
ding, and of the number were Edward and Eliza Bryan, son 
and daughter of Mr. Daniel Bryan, and brother and sister of 
John Bryan, Esq., of Utica. The party left the hotel in the 
morning to visit the falls, and upon arriving at the refresh- 
ment house, the Bryans, leaving their companions, proceeded 
as far as the path is cut in the rock and as far as any but the 
most venturesome ever go, and then as they were climbing 
around a huge pile of rock with a perpendicular face of an 
hundred feet, with only here and there a slight projection or 
crevice to assist them while hanging a considerable distance 
above the water, was the last that was seen of them alive. 
The particulars oFthat terrible moment will never be known 
until that great day when all secrets shall be revealed. 
AVhioh met his or her fate first ? and what struggles and 
efforts to save the other? and how long those struggles? 
are questions no human tongue can answer. They parted 
with their friends at about ten o'clock, and the watch of 
Miss Bryan was found stopped a few minutes before elev- 
en. The body of Edward was found late in the evening 
near where he doubtless fell, and the body of the sister 
was found early the next morning a short distance be- 
low. On the fourth their funeral took place at Utica, and 
their remains were followed to their final vesting place by 
one of the largest processions ever witnessed in that city, in- 
cluding almost the entire fire department, of which Jldwanl 
Bryan was a member. 

Cavern at Trenton Falls. — The following article pro- 
ving the existence of this cavern, with a description, is eopietl 
from theFrk/id of Mem, an anti-slavery newspaper, formerly 
published in Utica. The exploration was made by several 
gentlemen, students in the " Oneida Institute " at AVhitesboro: 



Sxn.J ' TRENTON. 46 1 

'• The entrance of the cavern is to be found at a distance of 
perhaps a mile and a half from the recess directly upon the 
creek, on the west side, and about two hundred yards from 
its bank. It is on a field owned by Stephen Buffington, and 
has immediately around it a clump of bushes. 

" Before entering we entirely changed our dress, putting 
on old clothes which we had provided for the occasion, and 
taking in our hands candles, hammers, matches, etc. — (a 
preparation which was afterwards found to be essential to 
safety.) We also left at the mouth some person to build a 
fire, (a precaution which we would also recommend to others 
for Iheir comfort on coming out.) It is not convenient for 
more than three or four persons to enter at a time. Each 
one should carry a candle or other light, as it greatly facili- 
tates the progress, and a single one is every moment liable to 
be extinguished. We were able to enter by stooping slight- 
ly, but the passage immediately contracts, so that but one 
person can pass at a time, and that only upon his hands and 
knees. The way is arched in the rock above, and has in its 
bottom a fissure of considerable depth, in which flows a stream 
of pure water. It is nearly horizontal, in a direction towards 
the creek, and uniform in size, except here and there w hen 
it is partially closed by pieces of rock which have fallen from 
above. At a distance of about ten rods from the mouth, this 
passage opens into the upper part oi a circular room about 
twelve feet in depth, which from its figure has been called 
the bottle. 

'^It presents nothing very remarkable. Ascendingfrom this, 
the passage is continued forward of the same form, and in the 
direction as before, for a distance of thirty yards, when it 
is firmly closed by rocks. Here, however, the fissure in its 
floor is enlarged in several places. Through one of these 
openings we found a passage ; and, descending in the posture 



462 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [SHAF. 

of a cliimncy sweep, through a space of fifteen feet, we came 
to tke channel of the brook. Following this, we found a 
straight and narrow route, in form and course like the one 
above, for forty yards. Through this it is necessary to go 
on the hands and knees a part of the distance, and occasion- 
ally to lie flat down and crawl like a serpent, carrying one 
ami before with the candle, and applying the other clo.^ely to 
the side of the body, and even with this expedient, a person 
©f greater than ordinary size might stick fast in the passage, 
and be unable to extricate himself without assistance. At 
length the way became wider, and higher, and its sides began 
to be covered with an incrustation of carbonate of lime, 
which being crystaline, presents, by- the reflection of the 
light, a handsome appearance. Soon it expands more, and 
passes an apartment of considerable dimensions. Here all 
our toil was awarded. Our eyes were gratified with the sight 
of stalactites, hanging in numbers from the roof, and running 
in ridges like little columns along the side.%. The whole sur- 
face of the rock, and the pebbles on the floor, are covered with 
an incrustation, white in some parts and brown in others, pre- 
senting an appearance truly beautiful. The stillness which 
pervades this deep part of the cavern, in connection with the 
thoughts that we are separated from the living world above 
by such depth of solid rock, produces a peculiarly solemn 
impression on the mind, while the reverberation of our voices 
returning upon our own ears in greatly magnified notes, 
make a very singular sensation. 

"Passing still onward, the passage continues for many 
yards of various dimensions, and, as we crawled along, a 
pleasant sound as of falling water fell upon our ears ; and 
indeed we soon entered a cavern larger than either of those 
we had seen, from the side of which issued a living spring, or 
a brook, which, like the one we followed, has found the way 



XXII.] TRENTON. 463 

trom tlie surface of the earth, and here falls from a ravine in 
a perfect sheet, like a cascade m miniature. This cavern was 
more beautiful than the former. Its sparry roofs and walls, 
aad its white pebbles, with the water reflecting in its fall the 
light of our candles, and breaking the profound stillness 
which would otherwise prevail, produce an eifect altogether 
pleasant and more easily imagined than described. The rill 
makes its way through the rock to the creek, but cannot be 
followed more than twenty feet from this cascade, the way 
being then closed by large stones. At this point bones were 
foun-d, indicating it to have been the resort of the beasts of 
prey. On starting to come out, our first impulse was to 
make extensive depredations on the encrusted walls and roof, 
but the recollection of the narrowness of the passage preven- 
ted, and we contented ourselves with taking one or two pieces 
of a foot or more in lengtli, which we brought out singly, 
and filling a bag with smaller pieces, which we rolled along 
the paths before us. We arrived safe at the mouth of the 
cave, having been absent two hours and a half 

" The whole distance we estimated at three hundred feet. 
The air was pure, and although cold and damp, our constant 
exercise kept up free circulation, and we sustained no injury 
except tht; bruises we received by our heads from the rocks. 
Thus, in addition to the well-known grandeur and beauty ot 
the works of the Author of Nature seen in the vicinity, we 
have seen another curiosity fully equal to the former, giving 
to the spot new interest and greater variety. True, it is 
difiicult of access, but those who enter it will be richly paid 
for their labor — the lovers of adventure, by the novelty of so 
romantic a journey into the bowels of the earth." 

Tiajnton village (formerly Oldenbarneveld,) is a small 
but pleasant village, situated, aa has been stated, near the 



\Q'i AMALS of ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

confluence of the Steuben and Cincinnatua Creeks. There arc 
two stores, two taverns, several mechanics' shops, and about 
sixty private dwellings. The family mansion erected by Col. 
Mappa, is of stone, and is equalled by but very few private 
dwelling.? in the county. The district school house is of 
stone, two stories high, with a town hall in the upper part, and 
is a respectable, durable structure. There are three churches, 
Unitarian, Presbyterian, and Methodist. Capt. John Bil- 
lings, is the post-master at this place. He received the ap- 
pointment in the spring of 1805, his commission bearing date 
the 19th of June, thereafter, and is believed he is now the 
oldest post-master in the United States. An article pub- 
lished in the Utica Observer some two or three years since, 
claimed this honor for Mr. Billings, and was answered by a 
statement that there then was a post-master at some place 
in the Mohawk Valley, whose commission was dated in the 
latter part of President Washington's administration. Since 
then the obituary of that post-master has been published, 
and it may now be fairly inferred that Trenton village can 
claim the "oldest post-master." 

South Trenton is situated in the south-east part of the 
town, in the valley of the Nine Mile creek. A singular 
circumstance connected with this stream is that in all its 
course it is nine miles from Utica, uniting with the Mohawk 
that distance above the city. South Trenton contains about 
forty dwellings, and two hundred inhabitants. It has a 
post office, one physician, two taverns, one store, four shoe 
shops, two carriage shop§, two blacksmiths' shops, two 
paint shops, one tailor, one harness maker, and one saw 
mill. It has also a flourishing division of the Sons of Tem- 
perance. 

There are three houses for public worship, viz.: a 
Union house belonging to the Baptists and Presbyterians. 



XXII.] TRENTON. 465 

that of the Independent Baptists, and one belonging to the 
Welsh Baptists. 

The district school house stands on an elevation a little 
north of the village, in which about one hundred pupils are 
taught, ten months in the year. The school is divided into 
two departments, in one of which is taught the higher branches 
of education, usual in academies, by competent teachers, 
thereby relieving the inhabitants from the necessity of send- 
ing their sons and daughters abroad to complete their edu- 
cation. The villagers, by their laudable exertions, have 
raised the character of their school so high, that it has been 
frequently termed " the model school." 

The first settlers in this part of the town, were Col. Thomas 
Hicks, an emigrant from Rhode Island. John Garrett and 
his twcf sons, Cheney and Peter, from Branford, Connecticut, 
and Edward Hughes and Hugh Thomas, from Wales. Che- 
ney Garrett built the first framed house in the village, which 
is yet standing on the bank of the Nine Mile creek. 

Holland Patent. — This was a grant of about 20,000 
acres, and lies principally within the limits of the town of 
Trenton. It was granted by the British crown to Henry, 
Lord Holland, and by him sold to Seth Johnson, Horace 
Johnson and Andrew Craige. Under their direction it was 
surveyed and divided into lots of about 100 acres each, in 
July. 1797, by Moses Wright, a surveyor, then residing in 
Kome. 

At the time the Johnsons came upon the Patent, 
Noah Simons, who also claimed to be an owner of it, was 
engaged in making a survey, but soon left, and never came 
to the Patent afterwards. The heirs of Noah Simons have 
within the last twenty years been to great trouble and ex- 
pense in tracing out the title in England, and have to their 

30 



466 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

satisfaction fbund tiie record of the original conveyance to 
their ancestors, and which, if attended to in season, would 
have secured the tract to the Simons family ; upon further 
examination, however, they found that the Johnsons and 
Craige, had so long since sold the whole of their rights to the 
settlers, that they were barred by the statute of limitations, 
and have now abandoned all hopes of obtaining what they 
consider their just due. 

Seth Johnson, the senior partner of that firm, was born in 
Middletown, Connecticut, N'ovember 2d, 1767, and died 
while on a visit to Holland Patent, December Sth. 1&02, and 
was the first person buried in the burial ground he had given 
for the use of the settlers upon his lands. 

A few families moved upon the Patent previously to 1797, 
having purchased of Simons. The date of the first settlement 
can not be precisely ascertained. One of the author's infor- 
mants was of the opinion that Holland Patent was settled ;i 
little earlier than Trenton' Village. Of the settlers under 
the title of Simons, Rowland Briggs and Eliphalet Pierce 
only survive, and who- with Eliphalet Cotes. Benjamin "White 
and a few others long since dead, purchased of Simons, and 
repurchased of the Johnsons and Craige. Soon after the sur- 
vey, the proprietors (Johnsons and Craige.) wishing to estab- 
lish an actual and permanent settlement, sold one c^uarter 
of the Patent to Bezabel Fis^, Pascal C. I. DeAngelis. Hez- 
ekiah Hulbert, and Isaac Hubbard, for the location of which 
these four drew shares, after selecting two lots each. In this 
way a nucleus was formed, around which gathered a band of 
hardy pioneers, the descendants of whom to this day bless 
their memory. They encountered many hardships, and suf- 
fered from many wants and privations. Bears and wolves 
were also quite too plenty. One of these pioneers. Eliphalet 
Cotes, was at the killing of forty-nine bears. It was the uni- 



XXII.) TRENTON. 467 

form custom when they met for public worship, to take with 
them their guns, and on one occasion, worship was adjourned, 
that they might repair to the neighboring forest to kill one ot 
the pests of the pig-sty, a bear. Mrs. Kelsey, the wife of an 
early. settler, having been to Whitestown to dispose of some 
of her handy-work, on her return became lost in the woods, 
and for the want of a more convenient sleeping apartment, 
spent the night in the top of a tree, she climbed to a sufficient 
elevation to save herself from being made the supper of some 
of the wild beasts, which had almost undisturbed possession 
of that section of country. She did not very highly enjoy the 
music of her serenaders, although they were adorned with 
the mustaches and whiskers so necessary to modern musical 
excellence, yet she comforted herself with the reflection, that 
if she had been less fortunate in securing a place of safety, 
she would soon have lost all power to listen to the music, as 
harsh as it wa.s. Day-light, however, made her persecutors 
retreat, and ,she reached home in safety. 

The following are obituary notices of the four persons who 
purchased one fourth of the Holland Patent, and settled upon 
it in 1797. 

Hezekiah H.ulburt died while upon a visit to Connec-ticut, 
in January, 1800, aged 50 years. 

Bezabel Fisk died also in Connecticut, aged 88 years. 

Pascal C. I. DeAngelis, died at Holland Patent, in 1839, 
aged 76 years. 

Isaac Hubbard d?ed in Ashtabula County. Ohio, in 1848. 
aged 99 years. 

The village of Holland Patent is centrally located on the 
Patent and contains sixty-five dwellings, and about 500 in- 
habitant.?. It has a post-office, two stores, one tavern, four 



468 ANNALS OF ONEDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

shoe shops, one harness shop, one grist mill, one shingle ma- 
chine, one cabinet shop and four physicians. 

Hobart Hall Academy was incorporated by the legislature 
in 1839, and Pascal C. I. DeAngelis was the first President. 

It occupies a commodious edifice, and is under the direc- 
tion of fifteen trustees, has a male and a female department, 
and is under the care of Mr. Arnold Petrie, A. B., as prin- 
cipal: over 120 students were in attendance the past year, 
and its future prospects are favorable. 

There are five houses for public worship in the village, 
belonging to the Presbyterians, old and new school Baptists, 
Episcopalians and Unitarians. Leonard Pierce was the first 
child born upon the Patent, and he is now living aged 55 
years. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

There are seventeen houses for public worship in the town 
of Trenton, some of which are very handsome and commodi- 
ous buildings. This unusually large number of religious 
societies will prevent the author's giving a very extended 
history of either, as to do so would fill a considerable 
volume. 

From the first settlement of the town the families of Judge 
Vander Kemp and Col. Mappa, were constantly in the habit 
of meeting together for religious services. After some time a 
school house was erected in which the first settlers used to meet 
for public worship. The Rev. Mr. Fish, a Presbyterian cler- 
gyman and a native of New Jersey, was the first preacher 
who visited the town. The author has not learned the exact 
time of his arrival, but it must have been within three or 
four years after the settlement commenced, for he is found 



XXII.] TRENTON. 469 

named as the first pastor of the Presbyterian church at Hol- 
land Patent, which was formed in 1797. The Presbyterian 
church at Trenton village, was organized at an early period. 
Previously to 1822, the Rev. Dr. Harrower preached alter- 
nately at the village and Holland Patent. This church is 
now in connection with the Presbyterian church in South 
Trenton, and its services are held alternately at the village 
and in the union house at the latter place. 

The Rev. John Sherman, an Unitarian minister, came to 
the town of Trenton in or about the year 1805, and with his 
family removed to Trenton Falls in 1806. He was accep- 
table to the people, and here became pastor of the first 
church of that denomination in the State of New York, and 
their house of worship was erected in this town in 1814. At 
its organization this church numbered fourteen members. 
After Mr. Sherman's resignation, which was soon after the 
erection of their house, the Rev. Isaac B. Pierce, from Rhode 
Island, was settled over this church, and preachedtwenty-five 
years, to the entire satisfaction of the congi'cgation. In 1840. 
the Rev. Edgar Buckingham, from 3Iassachusetts, assumed 
the pastoral ofiice for this church, which relation he still sus- 
tains, officiating a part of the time at Holland Patent. Mr. 
Sherman established an academy at the village, which he 
sustained several years. He died at the Falls, August 2d. 
1828, aged 57. He was a grand-son of Roger Sherman, the 
signer of the declaration of independence, and was a man of 
superior education and talents. 

The Presbyterian church, as has been stated, was formed at 
Holland Patent in 1797, and Mr. Fish was its first pastor. 
The former records of this church are lost, so that little is 
known of its early history. In 1812, a Congregational church 
was formed at the Patent, by the Rev. Elijah Norton, to which 
he preached as " stated supply " a short time, and was sue- 



470 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

ceeded by the Kev. Dr. Harrower, who preached for botli 
Presbyterians and Congregationalists, who met together for 
worship at that place and at Trenton village. On the 2d of 
January, 1821, near the close of the labors of Dr. Harrower, 
in this place, the two churches united, and assumed the name 
of "the church of Christ in Holland Patent." This union has 
resulted in continued prosperity, in increasing the efficiency of 
the church and the number of members. In 18^2, the Rev. 
William Goodell,was regularly installed its pastor. In 1829, 
Mr. Goodell was succeeded in the pastoral office by the Rev. 
Stephen W. Burrill, who was duly installed. The present 
pastor, the Rev. James W. Phillips, was installed by the pres- 
bytery of Utica, the 12th of February, 185{). The records 
show 133 communicants. 

First Baptist Church. — This chuix-h is located at Holland 
Patent, and was constituted March 26th, 1812, with sixteen 
members, seven males and nine females. Elder Joel Butler, 
who was the first pastor of the Sangerfield church, was also 
the first minister in this church. He was a successful preach- 
er and many v.'ere added to its numbers In 1813, the 
church and society erected a small but comfortable house of 
vrorship. The successive pastors of this church have been 
as follows : 

Elder Joel Butler, - from 1512 to 1819. 

■ •■ Norman Guiteau,- " 1819 " 1820. 

•• Simon Jacobs & J. Stevens,l 820 "1821, 



Griffith Jones, - ' 


' 1822 


" 1825. 


Dyer D. Ransom, ' 


■• 1825 


" 1827. 


Robert Z. Williams, ' 


" 1827 


" 1834. 


Nathaniel AVattles, ' 


" 1834 


" 1837 


Thomas Roberts, 


" 1837 


'• 1841. 



XXII.] TRENTON. 471 

In 1840, the cliurcli had increased to oyer one hundred 
members, and their house had become too small for the con- 
gregation worshipping in it. A new house of stone was built 
this year, at a cost of $3000. 

In 1841. Elder John Dill was called to the efficeof pastor. 
In 1842, an unhappy division took place, and about thirty- 
five members retired. In 1843, during a protracted meeting 
their almost new house of worship was burned, but which has 
since been rebuilt. In 1847 and 1848, the Rev. Leland J. 
Huntley was pastor, and in 1849, Rev. Thomas Owens. The 
minutes of the Oneida Baptist Association, show that the 
church consisted ef ninety members in September, 1850. 

Saint PmiVs Episcopal Church. — On the 25th of April. 
1S21, the Rev. Henry Moore Shaw, James Wetmore, and 
others, took the preliminary steps to incorporate this church 
at Holland Patent, and the records show that it was fully or- 
ganized on the 21st of June, of the same year. Rev. Henry 
Moore Shaw was chosen rector ; James Wetmore and Abra- 
liam Diefendorf, wardens ; and Aaron Savage, Seth Wells, 
Robert McArthur, Samuel Cande, Bryant Youngs, John P 
Warner, Samuel White and Aaron White, vestrymen. The 
society has now a good church edifice and parsonage. 

There are also at Holland Patent, a Welsh Baptist and a 
Welsh Congregational church, and also a society of Univer- 
salists, who hold meetings once in four weeks. 

There is a Baptist church, which meets a part of the time 
ivt Trenton, called the "North Deerfield and South Trenton" 
church. The portion of the church residing here, united 
•with the branch of the Presbyterian church of Trenton vil- 
lage, in erecting a union house for public worship. In 1843, 
and 4, Elders A. F. Rockwell and S. S. Hayward; in 1845. 



iTZ ANx\ALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CIIAP. 

Elder Nelson Ferguson; in 1847-8-9, Elder William A. 
Wells ; and in 1850, Elder Albert Cole, were pastors of this 
church. It meets a portion of the time at North Gage, in 
Deerficld. In 1850, it reported fifty-four members. 

There is also at South Trenton an independent Baptist 
church, which has recently erected a house of worship. 

There is also at this place a Welsh Baptist Church, of 
forty members. They have a house of worship, in which 
they have preaching in the Welsh language, regularly every 
Lord's-day. 

At Trenton Falls is a small Baptist church, which was form- 
ed at the village about the year 1833, of thirty-nine mem- 
bers. They have a house of worship which was erected in 
1838, and in which the Bev. Philander Persons preaches at 
present, one half the time. Elders A. P. Rockwell, John 
Stevens, Jesse Jones, 11. Z. Williams, Van Bensselaer Waters, 

James Mallory and Salmon have, at different periods. 

preached to this church. 

There is also a a small church at Prospect, in the town of 
Trenton, consisting of twenty members, in which the Bev 
Bobcrt Littler at present labors one-fourth part of the time. 



EIOGB.APHY. 



Doctor Luther Guiteau was born at Lancsboro', Massa- 
chusetts, in the year 1778. Not a little remarkable in the 
history of his family, was their connection with the medical 
profession. For many generations it is well ascertained, that 
they had in succession furnished one at least, who did credit 
to himself and honor to the science. There seemed to be a 
peculiar adaptation. It is said of the Swiss that their mouu- 



XXII.J TRENTON. 473 

tains become them, and they become their mountains. AVith 
no less truth it may be said of the Guiteau family, the med- 
ical profession becomes it, and it becomes the profession. 

In his youth and early manhood the subject of this notice, 
exhibited a more than ordinary degree of talent, as evidenced 
by his being frequently selected to address public assemblies, 
on occasions of festivity and joy. His youth was also char- 
acterized by great gentleness and amiability of character ; 
qualities that adorned and beautified his after life. 

The residence of his brother, Doct. Francis Guiteau, in 
Utiea, a name eminent in the early history of that city, soon 
attracted the attention of young Luther to this section of 
countr}'. At about the age of sixteen he came to Clinton, in 
this county, which then aiforded good opportunities for study, 
where he remained one or two years. Unfortunately we have 
no information as to his success as a student, but judging 
from his aptitude, his thirst for knowledge, and his acquire- 
ments afterwards exhibited, guides that will hardly permit 
of an erroneous conclusion, he must have ranked high. Ho 
seems to have had a strong inclination (constitutional per- 
haps), to the study of medicine. At an early period his in- 
quisitive mind was active in the acquirement of medical 
knowledge. This is shown by a dissertation on " Typhus. 
Fever," read before the Oneida County Medical Society in 
after life, in which he quotes his experience in the treatment 
of that disease, as early as the year 1793, when about fifteen 
years of age. 

His professional studies were pursued under Doctor Buel, 
of Sheffield, (Mass.,) and immediately on completing them ho 
removed to Trenton, then Oldenbarneveld, in the year 1802. 
Here he commenced, and continued in the practice of his pro- 
fession the remainder of his life, a period of about forty-eight 
years. He died Febcuiary 12th, 1850. His death although 



474 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAP. 

not unexpected, caused an unusual sensation of grief through- 
out the extensive circle of his acquaintance and practice. 

Of his estimation as a physician and a man. it is almost 
superfluous to speak. His well-earned reputation is both 
liistory and eulogy, while the respect and love with which he 
■was regarded by the entire community, and the " sympathet- 
ic tear" at his loss, unerringly proclaim the wide spread pub- 
lic estimation of his character. 

He was for many years President of the Oneida County 
Medical Society, and frequently gave them dissertations on 
the important subjects of the profession. 

Although he held decided political opinions, yet he never 
sought political preferment. The love of his profession was 
too engrossing. He however accepted from his fellow citi- 
zens a seat in the Legislature, in the year 1819, but he was 
afterwards frequently heard to say that political considera- 
tions would never again induce him to relinquish his prac- 
tice. I 

In medicine and politics Doct. Guiteau was conservative, 
but not to the extent of distrusting the future, or sighing for 
the past. He predicted for his country a glory unknown in 
the annals of the world, and fondly cherished the time when 
the science of medicine would be freed from conjecture and 
superstition. It was innovation as innovation^ that he dis- 
trusted, and the ignorance and superstition that impeded the 
progress of truth, that he viewed with feelings akin to liorror 
and disgust. The following grotesque description of a pre- 
tender, occurs in an address of his to the students of the Fair- 
field Medical College. " And shun as the bane of your pro- 
fession, any approximation to that senseless, brainless, cold- 
blooded, semi-vital being, denominated a quack." 

Doctor Guiteau loved his profession. Its practice was. to 
him, from higher, holier, purer motives, than its pecuniary 



XXII.] TRENTON. 4To 

considerations. On the contrary it seemed to partake of the 
spirit of the perforjnance of a pleasant duty. In its pursuit 
he sacrificed ease, domestic and social enjoyments, while his 
presence in the sick-room seemed accompanied with a bene- 
diction. Much of his zeal and devotion to his profession. 
were the results of high religious principle, while its duties 
were performed with the spirit of a martyr. 



T'rancis Adrian Yander Kemp, L.L.D., was born at Cam- 
pen, in Overyssel, one of the United Provinces of- the Neth- 
erlands, on the 4th of May, 1752. On his father's side he 
was descended from the distinguished families of Vander 
Kemps, the Bax, the Van Drongelens^— -and upon his moth- 
er's side from the Leydekkers, the Huybers, the DeWittes, 
Lords of Haemstede, etc., etc. His father was educated for a 
merchant, but entered the army in 1 745, and was present at 
the battles of Lowfelt, Roacoux, Aste and Molden. In 1747 
he married Anna Catharina, only heir of Francis Leydekker, 
receiver-general of Tertolen in Zealand. — His regiment was 
in garrison at dampen at the time of the birth of the subject 
of this notice. — Young Vander Kemp, after having made 
. sufficient progress in the Dutch and French languages, was 
sent to the Latin school at Zutphen in Crelderland, where, al- 
though, as he says, his " progress was rather slow, without any 
brilliant proficiency," he received a prize on the 1 4th of Jan- 
uary 1763. From Zutphen he removed with his family to 
Zwolle in Overyssel, where his studies were continued, and 
where, without discontinuing or abating his ardor for his stud- 
ies, he was placed as a cadet in a company of infantry in the 
regiment of Holstein Gottorp in 1764 — and in 1766 he was 
admitted to the same rank in his father's regiment. During 



476 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

tlicsc periods, and up to 1769, he devoted a good share of his 
time to the Latin, Greek and Hebrew, under most able mas- 
ters. In the latter year his regiment having been ordered to 
an encampment where he could not pursue his studies, he de- 
termined to solicit from the Prince of Hesse a permission of 
absence. Receiving an abrupt repulse from the Prince, ho 
immediately asked and obtained a dismission from the service. 
In August, 1770. he entered the University of Groningen, 
where he devoted two years to Latin, Greek, the Oriental 
languages, Metaphysics, Natural history. Cosmology, etc., be- 
sides private instruction in English and Italian. Of this 
period he says, " my determination to leave nothing untried,, 
to soar, if possible, above mediocrity, made me exert all my 
strength with a view to conquer. Ere long was my health 
impaired by chemical experiments, by extravagant studies, 
allowing myself seldom but five hours' rest, often contented 
with two or three, often taking no rest at all." In his third 
year he tacked upon his previous course, botany, ecclesiastical 
history, ecclesiastical law and the laws of nature, the last 
two under the celebrated Vandermarck. While under the 
teachings of that talented professor, and amid the influences 
of many of his military and classic companions with their fa- 
vorite authors, united with a hatred of the classical hierarchy 
and their continual usurpation, he became a partial convert 
to the errors of Deism — errors which found so many votaries 
among the learned and great of that age in central Europe. 
Associated with young men of the first families in the republic, 
nobility and gentry, arguing against the dominion of the cler- 
gy, the rage of the latter was soon raised to a high pitch, and 
to them he was " a reprobate old in sin, though young in 
years" — although their hatred was. in fact, pointed rather 
against Prof. Vandermarck, than against his pupil. The lat- 
ter was called before an ecclesiastical tribunal of professors 



XXII.] TRENTON. i7f 

and ministers, and threatened with disgrace, unless he should 
abandon Vandermarck, purify his library, and resume hi* 
studies — which done, he should be restored to the favor and 
care of his friends. In his ardor and zeal for reform, his ha- 
tred of tyranny and love for his great master, Vandermarck, 
he rejected these terms with disdain. He now employed his 
pen in a defence of his master against the clergy. During 
this period he formed many connexions, and opened corres- 
pondence with learned men in Holland and other countries, 
chiefly among the " remonstrants." Upon recommendation of 
Prof Vandermarck he received the ofi'er of civil employ at St. 
George Delmina in Africa ; shortly afterwards another to go 
to the West Indies as governor to a young gentleman. He 
says '• I knew myself too well to accept the guidance of a 
youth, when I was scarce to be trusted to regulate my own 
conduct. The inhospitable coast of Delmina seemed now my 
only refuge, when it struck my mind that tlie Baptists at Am- 
sterdam were reputed to be of extensive liberal principles ; 
that I was intimate with some wealthy and learned members 
of this community. Prof Oosterbaen of Amsterdam, the Rev. 
John Stinstra at Harlingen, and through his recommendation 
with the family of Hoofman at Haerlem^-I resolved then to 
open my mind to Prof Oosterbaen — -ask him for support to 
promote my studies at Amsterdam in their Seminary, if I 
could be admitted without compromising hiyself in any man- 
ner, without constraint to any religious opinions I might adopt 
or foster, or adopt in future, and with a full assurance that I 
should be decently supported — all which was generously ac- 
cepted and Oosterbaen actually acted and proved himself to 
me a friend and benefactor, a guide and father. I thus left 
Groningen to remain during the vacation at the University 
of Franequer, being there gratified with the rooms and library 
of my friend Chaudoir, then a candidate of the Galilean 



478 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

cliurcli and on a visit to his parents. In September, 1773. 1 
left that place for Amsterdam to enter a new course of stud- 
ies among the Baptists. As soon as I arrived at the rooms 
hired for me by Prof Oosterbaen, with my small, though se- 
lect library, augmented by a few authors, indispensably re- 
quired, I resolved seriously to begin my inquiry into the truth 
and nature of the Christian religion." With his knowledge 
of history, ancient and modern, civil and ecclesiastical, of 
church antiquities and classic literature, laying aside all pre- 
conceived prejudices, he determined to seek and embrace truth 
—soon, by the most assiduous study, night and day, he be- 
came fully convinced of the truth of Christian revelation. 
With his Greek New Testament, aided by the lectures of 
Prof Oosterbaen, he soon.became convinced of and embraced 
the leading doctrines of evangelical Christianity, and in 
November, 1773, he publicly professed his religious prin- 
ciples and received baptism from Van Heinisgen. 

During two years he studied theology witli Greek and the 
mathematics. On the 18th of December, 1775, he was ad- 
mitted as a candidate to the ministry, and after having re- 
ceived calls to the care of churches in Zealand, Friesland, 
and Holland, on the 25th of July, 1776, he accepted that of 
Huysen, in Holland, and during that year he received invita- 
tions to become pastor of churches in Flanders, Zealand and 
Leyden, the latter of which he accepted, October 1, 1777. 
Here circumstances occurred to produce a renewal of his po- 
litical connections in Holland and the other provinces. All 
the time he could spare was devoted to the laws and consti- 
tution, the history and antiquities of his country. His libe- 
ral views became well known, which his friends charged to the 
teachings of his old master V^andermarck, while the greatest 
pretended crime of the latter was that he was a disciple of 
Arminius. He now embarked in the great reform of placiag 



XXII.] TRENTON. 4T9 

the liberties of his country upon a- more permaueiit basis. lu 
1747, the office of Stadtholder had become hereditary in the 
House of Orange. Without overthrowing the House of 
Orange, or the orders of nobility, he believed that their in- 
terests were not inconsistent with, and indeed might be 
greatly subserved by, granting to the people at large a real 
influence in the government. Even many of the Orange 
party desired radical reforms. He was urged forward by 
several men of distinction (among whom was Vander Capel- 
len. Lord of Pol), and he published several letters upon the 
military jurisdiction, the quotas of the different States, the 
rights of arbitrage, etc., etc. He says he now took upon him- 
self the vast labor of collecting " all which was valuable 
among the archives of my country, as well as in the libra- 
ries of individuals." " I pereeived the forged chains which 
were to be riveted on the necks of my countrymen, and 
deemed it a feasible thing to break them. I perceived their 
insensibility and indolence, and would rouse them to vig- 
orous and unrelenting action. I glowed with indignation 
when I became convinced that in the fetters prepared for the 
Americans, the slavery of our own country was a chief ingre- 
dient. I would enlighten my parishioners by the pure 
knowledge of genuine gospel truth, and annihilate the hier- 
archical power of tlie church of Christ. Neither the difficul- 
ties I had to struggle witK, nor the obstacles I had to 
encounter, nor the threatening aspect of futurity, could dis- 
courage me or shake my endeavors. Here was the Baron 
Yauder Capellen and Vandeniarsch — there Van Berckel, 
DeGyzelaer, Paulus, Luzae, emboldening me to proceed, 
while a Duqui, a Vandermarck, a Vreede, a Vanschelle made 
a proffer of tkeir aid, and numbers of the wortliiest of tha 
Stadtholders friends procured me weapons of hardened steel 
with which to combat the monstrou& hydra." 



480 ANNALS Ot ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

At this juncture Mr. Vander Kemp, published several 
works, one a collection of tracts upon North America, iu 
which a comparison was drawn between the United States 
and the United Provinces, a series of letters on the corvccs 
or laws giving the services of the subject to the Lord, in 
Overyssel, etc., etc. This last produced a terrible effect, and 
the chains of slavery fell from the people of that Province. 
For an ode published in 1789, iu praise of the opposition in 
Friesland, a vexatious prosecution was commenced and con- 
tinued for nearly two years before the University Judicature. 
The ode was the pretext, but his other liberal tracts, connec- 
ted with his efforts in the cause of reform generally, were the 
real causes of the prosecution. His friends all became alarm- 
ed, and he was urged to leave the country, asylums being of- 
fered him at Brussels, and by the French Cabinet. He 
however determined to stand his ground, and proceeded to 
Hamburgh, where he was tried upon 1 75 articles, and after 
various appeals to higher powers, the prosecution was aban- 
doned. These efforts to crush him only excited him to still 
greater efforts. He says, " I lashed abuse of power, wherev- 
er I met with it, without mercy — even when threatened with 
incarceration. The weak-minded stood aloof, many feared to 
accost me in public, but I gained more and more the favora- 
ble regards of the first men in the State." He was hated by 
government and the clergy, the lower classes had not sufficient 
moral power or intelligence to aid him in his efforts for their 
amelioration, but the middle estates, possessing a large share 
of the talent, education and wealth of the country, seconded 
his efforts. In 1782, he delivered a sermon upon 1 Kings, 
xii, 3-20, delineating the conduct of Israel and Eeho- 
boam — a mirror for the Prince and nation — which was three 
times delivered and twice published — and also published 
four large volumes of authentic documents, copied from 



XXII.] TRENTON. 481 

records and works in the archives and private libraries — and 
to the latter were subsequently added three volumes of the 
same character. 

This year the subject of this sketch was married to a 
■daughter of Hon. Jacob Vos, burgomaster of Nymegen. and 
Lady Amira Beekman, a grand-niece of theWilliam Beekman. 
who emigrated to New Amsterdam (New York), in 164G. 
and who soon after was a Lieutenant Governor of this Prov- 
ince. His wife's family were attached to the StadthoIdor'.'< 
cause. During the years 1783 and 4, he was engaged in 
publishing a series of sermons, numerous tracts upon politic;! ! 
subjects and in contributing to several liberal journals. 

In 1785, the crisis arrived — Mr. Vander Kemp now as- 
sumed the capacity of a military leader iu the attempted 
revolution. A militia vras organized, and as one of the i^^ 
leaders of his party, he was in some way connected with near- 
ly every corps. His friend througlr life, the late Col. Adam 
(v. Mappa, of Trenton, organized a corps, and by superior mil- 
itary knowledge, soon brought it under excellent discipline. 
Col. Mappa was soon raised to the command of their little 
arm}'. The British influence was on the side of the Stadt- 
liolder, while France was pledged to countenance, and if nec- 
essary, assist the republicans. Utrecht was revoiiitionized 
without bloodshed or disorder. 

Soon the Stadtholder became alarmed — a truce was soun- 
ded — pledges of reforms and concessions were given^ but alas, 
a fatal schisra»arose among the reformers, by which all wa?* 
lost. Vander Kemp and some of his friends doabted the 
sincerity of the court in those pledges, while others became 
frightened, and were disposed to accept the terms offered. 
Tn violation of the truce aa-reed to on both sides, the .nioht oF 
the 5th of July, 1786, the city of Wj'ck, was surrounded 
by 1500 soldiers, with six cannon, and two morters In 

31 



482 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP, 

vaia Vaader Kemp and liis few friends attempted to roust- 
the people, the spirit of apathy and dissension had taken toe 
strong a hold, and by order of the magistrates the gates were 
opened — and while the troops entered on one side, he led hisr 
little band of about ninety men out of the opposite gate — ■ 
remaining himself with his friend De Nys and an aged vete- 
ran, too old to retreat, the only representatives of their cause. 
This took place notwithstanding the declaration of the French 
Cabinet to consider the commencement of hostilities as a 
declaration of war — the special pledge of protection to Van- 
der Kemp and his friends on the part of that cabinet and tht- 
instruction of Count Yergennes to their representative in 
Holland. 

On the 9th of July, a general amnesty, in which Yander 
Kemp was named, was published, but notwithstanding this. 
he was conducted to Amersfoort by a guard of dragoon.^ 
where he was placed in a public building under a strong 
guard. His first act here was to resign the pastoral chargi^ 
of his church at Leyden. Neither he nor his wife were al- 
lowed to correspond with their friends, unles.s their Ictter.v 
were first examined. 

Every art was tried to induce Mrs. "\ ander Kemp to ajy- 
peal to the Stadtholder for his intercession, but she refused. 
even after the solicitation of her own brother, a member of 
the States General. A lai-ge Prussian force having entered 
the country, leading the patriots to hope that it would ad- 
vance to their support, Yander Kemp was taken to Utreclit 
escorted as before. There he was insulted by the comman- 
der, den. Baron Yon Munster, with " and you, sir ! with 
your delicate pen — it was Madame la Princcssc, you gather 
now the fruits." 

The ruling party having notliing farther to fear, he and 
his frienda were released December 19, 1787. upon condition 



XXII.J TRENTON. 483 

of the payment of about $35,000, to indemnify the govern- 
ment. He had previously determined to leave his country 
forever, and no entreaties could induce him to change his 
plans. His wife with their two children (John J. and Ber- 
tha) and servant, visited him just before his release. The 
lieavy ransom was paid by his friend De Nys. He was re- 
leased in the evening, and in the same night, after embracing 
his wife, children and friends, left Utrecht, and arrived at' 
Antwerp on the 21st, whence he wrote to John Adams, then 
Minister of the United States at London. His wife, after 
disposing of his house in Leyden, his extensive library, col- 
lection of statues, busts, medals and superfluous furniture, 
joined him at Antwerp. His acquaintance with Mr. Adams 
Jiad commenced in 1780 or 81, while the latter, as agent 
'if the United States, was in Holland, and it is understood 
that he had rendered Mr. Adams very considerable services 
in his efforts to procure loans for our government. Mr. 
A. now furnished him letters to some of the first men in 
America. 

The Bai'on V. Capellen also procured for him letters from 
La Fayette, to several gentlemen in the United States and he 
afterwards received others from Mr. Jefferson, and Count 
Potemkin. He sailed from Havre, March 25, 1788, and ar- 
rived at New York the 4th of May. In New York he .soon 
made the acquaintance of Gov. George Clinton, Gen. Knox, 
Col. Hamilton — Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Hamilton conversed 
with Mrs. V-ander Kemp in Dutch (the latter understanding 
but two words of English — yes and no). They received the 
most kind attentions from all quarters. Having forwarded 
his letters to Gen. Washington, Dr. Franklin, Gov. Living- 
ston of N. J., Mr. Vander Kemp soon received an invitation 
to visit Mt. Vernon. On his way thither he spent several 
days with Gov. Livingston, had an interview with the venerable 



484 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

Franklin, at Philadelphia, " and arrived at last at Mount 
Vernon, where simplicity and order and unadorned grandeur 
and dignity had taken up their abode." Washington approv- 
ed of his plan for an agricultural life, and made a tender of 
his services, but advised his settlement in the State of New 
York, among the Dutch inhabitants. After visiting most of 
the villages upon the Hudson and Mohawk, he settled at 
Esopus (Kingston), Ulster Co., where he remained about 
five years. From thence he removed in 1793, to a place 
named by him Kempwick, upon the north shore of Oneida 
Lake, where he purchased of Geo. Parish upwards of one 
thousand acres of land. 

Soon afterwards he removed to Trenton (Oldenbarncveld), 
where he could enjoy the society of his old friends G. Boon 
and Col. Mappa. Soon after the organization of Oneidii 
(Jounty, Mr. Vander Kemp received the appointment of as- 
sistant Justice of the County Court, from which he acquired 
the title of Judge, and his title of Dr. was received from the 
University in Europe, with his degree of Doctor of Laws. 
He continued to correspond with many distinguished men in 
this country and Europe, and at his residence was often vis- 
ited by persons of the highest distinction of both continents. 
In 1818, under the auspices of Gov. De Witt Clinton, he trans- 
lated the ancient Dutch records in the archives of our State. 
consisting of twenty-five folio volumes, an employment for 
which he was eminently qualified, by his deep learning as a lin- 
gnist and his experience in transcribing antique documents in 
his own country. 

The latter years of his life were devoted to domestic enjoy- 
Tiients in the bosom of his family, and in the family of his 
old companions in arms, and fellow laborer in the cause of 
freedom Col. Mappa, and in his library, that never tailing 
fountain to the cultivated mind. The Philosophical Society 



XXII. j TRENTON. 485 

of Philadelphia, the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Boston 
and that of Philosophy and Literature of New York, adopted 
him as a member of their bodies, and he published in this 
country several small works upon Theological, Historical and 
jScientific questions. 

He died at Trenton on the 7th day of September, 1829. 



486 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

tJTICA. 

The earliest mention the autlioi- has found of the site of 
the City of Utica, is in certain Iloyal Letters Patent, granted 
by the authority of George II. Dei Gratia, of Great Britain, 
etc. King, defender of the faith, etc., and dated the 2d day of 
January, 1734, '• wherein and whereby" 22,000 acres of land 
are granted to Joseph Worrell, Wm. Cosby Sherift' of Am- 
l)oy, John Lyne, Thomas Ffreeman, Paul Richards, John 
Ffelton, Charles Williams, Richard Shuckburgli, Timothy 
Ragley, Joseph Lyne and Frederick Morris, " in fee, in free 
and common socage as of our manor of E. Greenwich, in 
Kent." This Patent recites that the grantees named, by 
their petition received by Gov. Cosby in Council on the 13th 
of July, in the year preceding, had stated that Nicholas Eker 
and sundry other Germans had in 1725, by licence from Gov. 
Burnet purchased " that tract in the Mohawk country on botli 
sides of the river between the great flat or plain above the 
fall, and the land granted to the wife and children of Johan 
Jurck Kast." also another tract beginning " on the west line 
of said granted lands, on both sides of the river running up 
westward to a certain creek called Sadahqueda and in breadth 
in the woods on both sides of the river, six English miles," 
that said grantees had purchased of said Germans their right 
and interest in said lands, and they therefore asked Letters 
Patent for 22,000 acres, a part of the land so purchased of 



\'xni.] TjTiCA. 487 

•^aid Germans. The Patent then proceeds, " in obedience to 
our royal vistnictions to said Governor of New York, etc., 
at St. James, the 19th of May, 1732, and by the said William 
<'Osby, Governor, etc., and George Clark, Esq., Secretary of 
said Province, Archibald Kennedy, Esq., Receiver General, 
and Cadwallader Golden, Esq., Surveyor General, Commis- 
.-^ioners for setting out land to be granted, have set out to the 
<aid Joseph Worrell and others, a certain tract in the county 
< if Albany, on both sides of the Mohawk river, beginning at 
a point on the south side of said river on the west side of a 
brook called Sadahqueda, where it falls into said river, and 
thence S. 38 deg, W. 238 chains, thence S. 52 deg., E. 483 
chains, thence N. 38 deg., E. 480 chains, thence N. 52 deg.- 
W. 483 chains, thence S. 38 deg., W. 242 chains, to the place 
of beginning," and thence proceeding in the usual form of a 
Patent or Deed, reserving to the crown all gold and silver 
mines, and trees fit for ship timber and masts, and the yearly 
I'ent of two shillings and six pence, for each one hundred 
acres, and binding the grantees toc-ultivate three acres in every 
fifty, within the next three years, and concluding. "Witness 
<iur well beloved William Cosby, Captain General and Gov- 
<'rnor in chief of New York, New Jersey, and the territories 
thereto depending in America, Vice Admiral of the same and 
Colonel of our army at Fort George, in the city of New York, 
ihe 2d day of January, 1734." This tract thus granted was 
jifterwards known as Cosby's Manor, upon a portion of v»hich 
TTtiea stands. 

The next mention of the locality of Utica. found by the 
author is in the minutes or " Itinerary " of a French spy 
from Canada, who traversed the region from Oswego to 
Schenectady during the " old French war," to wit, in the year 
1757. He entitled his report thus: '• Itinerary from the 
mouth of the river Ohouegen (Oswego.) in lake Ontario, to 



-ISo ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. | CHAP. 

lake Oneida, thence up Vilerick (Wood Creek) to the sum- 
mit level which is the source of the river of the Mohawks or 
iln AgnieHj by which wc can descend to Corlar or Chenectcdi, 
which Albany or Orange can be reached." After describing 
the route from Oswego to Rome, the .y}i/ then takes the road 
from the latter on the south or right side of the Mohawk 
leading to Schenectady. He says : " leaving Fort Williams'' 
(the predecessor of Fort Stanwix, Rome), " there is a road that 
unites with that by which horses and cattle pass from Fort Kou- 
ari (Fort Herkimer), opposite the mouth of the AVest Canada 
Creek and Chouagen. This road is bad for about four 
leagues after leaving Fort Williams. The country is mar- 
shy — Carriages {ks trains) travel it in winter and during the 
summer, and it can easily be passed on horseback at all times- 
thougli in some places there is a great deal of mud. After 
these four leagues, carts can easily go as far as Fort Kouari. 
Having travelled four leagues on this road, wdiich is five 
leagues from Fort Kouari, wo come to the forks of two 
roads, one of which to the left, leads to the Palatine's village 
(Herkimer), by fording the Mohawk River." This language 
is somewhat ambiguous, and there is an evident discrepancy 
as to distances, still the ford mentioned was doubtless at or 
near the foot of Genesee Street, Utica. During the revolution 
the fording place across the Mohawk was at the site of the 
present bridge at the foot of Genesee Street, and it is proba- 
ble that the road to the river on the north side, and the ford 
Vr'cre the same which had been used for forty or fifty years 
before, rather than the supposition that they had been chang- 
ed in the then wilderness state of the country. The venerable 
Mr. Harter, of Deerfield, now ninety years of age, and a na- 
tive of Herkimer, recollects having visited Deerfield Corners 
frequently, several years prior to the Revolution, and he lo- 
cates the ford where the bridge now is, and a short distance 



xxiu.j UTicA. 489 

above Fort Schuyler, which, he says, was erected to guard the 
passage across the river. 

The author has not dug up these two references to the 
ground and soil upon which Utica stands, because he thinks 
they foreshadowed or were prophetic of the beautiful and 
thriving city now spread out upon them, but, may be, to 
gratify that innate propensity for tracing ourselves and our 
things back to their origin, or, may be, from a desire to record 
something old enough to possess a little of the mist and won- 
der-fog of history, or, may be, because they possess some his- 
toric worth as facts, or, for all these reasons put together. 
He is too conversant with the sentiment of the country, to- 
gether with what his eyes have seen, not to know that Utioa 
is indebted for what she is to the energy and perseverance of 
the last and present generations of her citizens, and not to 
any natural advantages of location, or power for driving ma- 
chinery, or richness of soil, nor to any thing which men long 
since gone from the earth and forgotten, ever did, or design- 
ed for her. 

The " Itinerary " of the s.py gave a minute description of 
every fortification, fortified dwelling and other object of in- 
terest to an invading force, between Oswego and the Hudson, 
and upon both sides of the Mohawk, and from which it seems 
there was no fortification upon the site of Utica, in 1 757, a.s- 
none is mentioned. Leaving Fort Williams and taking the 
path on the north side of the Mohawk, he says, " is estimated 
to be twelve leagues." * * * " This path loads ever hilLs 
and small mountains, and can be travelled only afoot or on 
horseback. Eight leagues must be traversed b.y this path 
before reaching the forks of the high road that comes fron^ 
the other side or right bank of the river." 

The name of the site of Utica in the Oneida tongue is. 
Ya-uun-da-da-siSj i. c, avouwl the hill- Xhq a'a in the s^,V 



490 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

lable Ya and first <ia have the ordiriary long sound, the a in 
the second da has the sound as in fatlier^ and the syllable is 
fully accented, but there are, as in case of most Indian names, 
a variety of pronunciations of the word, even by natives of 
Oneida. The author took the opportunity of their presence 
at the Mechanics' Fair in Feb. 1851, to ask the Oneida chief. 
Beech Tree and two other younger Indians, to give the pro- 
nunciations of this name. Each of them pronounced it very 
many times, both before and after consulting among them- 
selves as to the manner of doing it. and the author wrote it 
tiien, U-nun-da-da-ges. The first syllable seemed a mere 
deep aspiration and was caught by the ear with much difiicul- 
ty — the second, third and fourth syllables were pronounced 
as above, and the last like ges or jcs or zis or ; soft or r. In 
the first instance above, the author has followed Mr. Morgan 
in his " League of the Iroquois." As given by him the name 
In the Seneca dialect is Nun-da-da-sis, in the Cayuga De-o- 
nun-da-da-sis, in Onondaga None-da-da-sis, in Mohawk Ya- 
ya-none-da-ses, and in the Tuscarora, Ya-nun-na-rats. Af- 
ter Fort Schuyler was in ruins, the place was called Twa-dali- 
ah-lo-dah-que, i. c. 7'iiins of old fort. The autlior being in 
doubt as to his orthography of the word, asked one of the na- 
tives above mentioned to write it, who wrote as follows : Twa- 
len-hen-ro-ta-que ! saying however that the nutlior's pronun- 
ciation as above was correct. 

The close of 1758, Fort Schuyler was erected upon tlio 
south bank of the Mohawk, and named in lionor of Colonel 
■ Peter Schuyler, an uncle of Gen. Philip Schuyler of the Rev- 
olution. Lord Chatham having taken a place in the minis- 
try of Geo. II., a new spirit was infused into aft'airs. and the 
most energetic measures were adopted for retrieving the losses 
of previous years in the prosecution of the war with France. 
This fort was designed to guard the fording place just above 



xxm.] UTicA. 491 

it in the Mohawk, and to form one in the chain of posts be- 
tween Fort Stanwix and Schenectady. These forts gene- 
rally contained small garrisons, whose duties were to inter- 
pose a check upon advancing parties of French and Indians, 
to exert an influence over and protect the six nations, and 
furnish scouts for traversing the forests between the Mohawk 
and Canada. By the achievements which soon followed ; the 
taking of Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara, Quebec, etc.. 
the " old French war "' was brouglit to a close and Fort 
Schuyler doubtless soon became useless and tenantless. The 
walls of the Fort were composed of earth which inclosed but 
a small area and were probably surmounted by picket?. It 
stood between Main Street and the Mohawk, just below Sec- 
ond Street. A block house was erected at some period pre- 
viously to the close of the revolution, which stood upon the 
site of the depot of the Utica and Scheuectady Rail Road 
and was occupied by Moses Bagg, sen.,as a blacksmiths' shop 
for a time between 1790 and 1800. 

The Edinburgh Encyclopedia, American edition, says that 
this fort " was also the scene of several skirmishes between 
the Indians and the whites, the flats of the Mohawk and the 
country adjoining, being the possession of the Mohawk tribe." 
Notwithstanding this may be true, the author has found 
neither records nor traditions confirming it. and from the 
time of its erection the Mohawks were the firm friends of 
the English. It is believed that the fort was not garri.soned 
in the revolution, but may have been temporarily occupied 
by troops in their passage to and from Fort Stanwix and the 
Indian country. From an attempt made in the revolution 
to change the name of Fort Stanwix to Schuyler, some con- 
fusion in historical reminiscenses has been created, some 
transactions having been located by those unacquainted witli 
this fact, at the site of Utica which should have been at Fort 



492 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. ^ [CHAP. 

iStauwix. lu 1762, Cosby's inanoi- was surveyed by Chris- 
topher Yates. On the 31st of August, 1786, John R. 
Bleccker, one of the proprietors, completed a survey of the 
manor and a map of the same, upon which was designated all 
the original lots, and by which the land was divided between 
Messrs. Schuyler, Bleecker, Bradstreet's heirs and Scott. The 
manor extended fz'om the mouth of the Sauquoit Creek, east- 
wardly upon the Mohawk eleven miles and seventeen chains, 
by six miles wide, being three miles on each side of the river. 
The lots are about sixteen to seventeen rods wide and three 
miles long. The city of Utica according to its present limits 
is bounded on the east upon or near the east line of great lot No. 
82, and on the west by the west line of great lot No. 09. 
Nos. 82, 92; 93 and 94 belonged to J. R. Bleecker, Nos. 83, 
84 and 85 to J. M. Scott, Nos. 86, 87, 88, 98 and 99 to Gen. 
Schuyler, Nos. 89, 90, 91, 95,96 and 97, to Gen. Brad- 
street's heirs. ]jot No. 92 extends to a point near the west 
end of Broad Street basin bridge. No. 93 to a point a few 
feet east of First Street canal bridge, No. 94 extends to a line 
a few feet east of Charlotte Street, and strikes the east line of 
Genesee Street near the south-east corner of Genesee and 
Catharine Streets, No. 95 extends to a line a few feet east of 
Broadway, No. 96 extends to a lino beginning near the head 
of State Street, and thence north upon the line between the 
Cooper and Huntington property, crossing the canal a few 
rods west of the foot of Cornelia Street, No. 97 extends to 
the south-east corner of Varick and Fayette Streets, No. 98 
extends to the east side of the Vulcan Works, and No. 99 ex- 
tends to the line of Whitestown. According to Bleeckers 
map of 1786, it appears that clearings had then been made 
on lot No. 86, designated as McNamee and Abm. Broome's 
'• improvements " lying on both sides of the Plate Kill, that 
the '•' old fort '' was upon lot No. 93, that two houses belong- 



xxm.] UTicA. 493 

ing to Cunningham and Damuth stood upon lot No. 94, (at 
lower end of Genesee Street,) that the house of Mr. Chrisman 
stood upon lot No. 95, and that McNamee had an " improve- 
ment" upon lot No. 96. These houses, clearings, etc., were 
upon or near the old road to Fort Stanwix, corresponding 
nearly with Main and Whitesboro Streets. The author's 
father removed past old Fort Schuyler to Dean's Patent (in 
Westmoreland), in January, 1787, and he many times said 
'• there were three log huts or shanties, then near the old fort," 
which dwellings must have been built in 1786, or previously. 
Most, or all of the notices of Utica heretofore printed, have 
.stated that the place was first settled in or about 1788 or 89, 
but truth will allow two, three or more years to be added to 
its age. By the Bleecker map, Nail Creek is named " Nagal 
Kill." Some twenty-five years age Mr. Joseph Masseth, a 
Oerman, established a " dog nail factory "as it was called, 
xxpon the banks of Nail Creek, for the manufacture of wrought 
nails. His bellows were blown by two dogs, who in turn ran 
in a wheel after the manner of modern dog churns, and a 
description of his factory (at first a mere shanty) went the 
rounds in most of the newspapersof the United States. Mr, 
Masseth now resides in West Utica, having obtained a hand- 
some competency from his "dog nail factory," and it is very 
generally believed that Nail Creek received its name from 
these circumstances. But " Nagal Kill " is German and 
Dutch, and translated means Nail Creek, thus showing it an 
ancient name, but from what or when it received the name, 
or what kind of a " Nail " was intended, will doubtless ever 
remain a mystery. 

On the 7th of March, 1788, the town of German Fiats. 
Montgomery County, (Tryon County formed March 12, 1772, 
from Albany, name changed to Montgomery in 1784.) was 
divided, and the town of Whitestown formed, with less than. 



494 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COfNTV. [clIAP. 

'^00 iuliabitants. The new town was bounded on the east 
by a line crossing the Mohawk at the fording place near the 
house of John Cunningham, which stood near the site of 
Bagg's Hotel, at the lower end of Genesee Street, and run- 
ning thence north and south to the bounds of the State and 
included all west of that line. Upon the formation of 
Oneida County, in 1798, this east line was thrown eastwardly 
to the present line of the city and county. U tica is situated 
iu latitude 43 deg. 6 min., and longitude 1 dog. 41 min. east 
from the meridian of Washington. 

The late William Alverson, father-in-law of Theodore 8 
Faxton. Esq., came witli his father Uriah Alverson to old 
Fort Schuyler iu 17S8, and the latter leased a portion of lot 
9^. of Gen. Schuyler. He erected a house upon the site of 
the boat yard, now owned by Messrs. Penfield and Dean 
At this time a family named Morey, Philip the father, and 
Solomon, Richard and Sylvanus his sons, from Rhode 
[eland, were Ih'mg as squallcrs on lot 97. and Francis Foster 
was then a squatter on lot 9G. A man named Silyca was 
also a squatter at a very early period near the fort. Sylva- 
rjus Morey and Mr. Russell in 1789, purchased Fosters ''bet- 
terments" or "improvements," or^ lot 96. to use new country 
terms, and they in turn sold in 1790 or 91. to Joseph Soule, 
mIio subsequently took a contract for the land of Judge San- 
ger, the agent of the Attorney for the executor of some of the 
devisees of Gen. Bradstreet. Soule subsequently sold his in- 
terest to James S. Kip, who took a deed from Evans and 
Gould. Deacon Stephen Potter arrived in April, 1790. and 
purchased the whole of lot 97, but soon sold parts of it to 
other settlers. (Some particulars as to first settlers may be 
found in the subsequent account of the titles to real estate.) 

Neither the soil nor its location, at an early period, held out 
inducements to emigrants t® settle at this place Nearly all 



xxin.J UTicA. 495 

the ground now built upon, was then an almost impassible 
dwamp. All that was then anticipated was to make the place 
a "landing" upon the Mohawk, and as the adjoining country 
was cleared up and this stream became smaller, its prospects 
were greatly improved by its being at the head of navigation. 
The first business men of the place could only hope that the 
village of old Fort Schuyler would be the pojt of the cities of 
Wliitestown and New Hartford. They consequently kept 
close to the banks of the river, and for many years the busi- 
3iess part of the place was that part of the " Genesee road ' 
below the line of Main Street and the " Whitestown road ' 
and the banks of the river. The residences of those who did 
not liv3 in th.e same buildings with their shops, stores, etc., 
were scattered along upon Main and Whitesboro Streets. The 
old Indian path from Ya-nun-da-da-sis (site of Utica) to 
<Ja-no-wa-lo-hale (Oneida Castle) here intersected the road 
from Ska-na-tat (Albany) to De-o-wain-sta (the portage from 
:iie Mohawk to Wood Creek), and made it a natural and 
convenient location for a trading house for the Indian trade. 
■ John Post, the first merchant in what is now Utica, wau 
engaged for some years previously to 1790, in connection 
with Mr. Martin, of Schenectady, in trading with the six na- 
tions, particularly in the purchase of ginseng, then exported 
in largo quantities to China, as a suppo.sed remedy for that 
fatal disease the Plague. Mr Post was born at Schenectady 
in December, 1748, and faithfully served his country during 
the entire period of the war of the Ptevolution. He be- 
longed to the staff of the army, and was at the taking of Bur- 
goync, in Sullivan's expedition, in the battle of Monmoutli, 
tind at the surrendry of Cornwallis. In the spring of 1790, 
having purchased and leased real estate near old Fort 
Schuyler, upon Cosby's manor, he removed thither. With 
his wife and three infant children and a carpenter, placing a 



■iOG ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

stock of merchandize, furniture, provisions and building ma- 
terials in boats, be embarked upon the Mohawk at Schenec- 
tady, and in eight or nine days landed at his new home. So 
deep was the mud in the road, now Genesee Street, that the 
children had to be carried to the log palace previously erect- 
eil, where they all arrived '• cold and uncomfortable." The 
persons then residing here were Uriah Alverson. John Cun- 
ningham, Jacob Christman, and Widow Damutli, and their 
families, and probably some others named elsewhere, or whose 
names have not been ascertained. Christman served as a 
lioatman for Mr. Post several years, and removed to or near 
the farm now owned by Colonel Nicholas Smith, in the oast 
l^art of the town. In a communication recently received by 
the author from Mrs. Petrie, a daughter of Mr. Post, slu* 
says : '• As the place was then much resorted to, my fatlier 
sold lots to mechanics and traders. The first settlers wore 
men wanting in energy and enterprise, and he re-pur(;hased 
the lots of them, and soon sold to others, who also proved in- 
efficient in building up the place, which my father fancied 
would — must, considering its location, in due time, command 
much trade. Again he re-purchased the lots, and he did not 
wait long before he, a third time, sold them to such men as 
became permanent residents and acquired a competency.' 
.\.t first Mr. Post kept his goods for sale in his dwelling, but 
in the next year (1791) he erected a building for a store. 
where he had an extensive trade with the Indians and tlie 
early settlers of the surrounding country. Of the Indians 
he purchased furs, skins and ginseng, (called by them Ka- 
lon-dag-gough, the panax trifolium) in exchange for rum. 
paints, cloths, powder, shot, ornaments of various kinds, beads, 
small mirrors, etc., etc. It v/as a common occurrence that 
thirty or forty Indian men, women and children remained 
at his house through the night, and if the weather was cold 



XXIII.] UTICA. 197 

they occupied the floor in front of the immense kitchen fire 
of logs, but in summer they lodged in the barn, or if too drunk 
to get into the barn, then they lay upon the grass plats by 
the side of the log and brush fences near the corner of Gren- 
osee, "Whitesboro and Main Streets. Mr. Post is said to have 
]ieen a man of most strict integrity and great kindness of 
lieart, but the " light of our day " had not shown him the 
great wrong he inflicted upon the poor natives, by gratifying 
their unconquerable passion and thirst for " fire-water " in 
the shape of New England rum. The store, owned and oc- 
cupied by Mr. Post, stood upon the northerly corner of Gen- 
esee and Whitesboro Streets, upon or near the site of the 
.store now occupied by J. E. "Warner & Co., and he also sub- 
sequently had a store at Floyd, and another at Manlius. 

While here, and under the influence of rum, the Indians 
frequently engaged in bloody fights, were frequently turbu- 
lent and troublesome, and sometimes showed their knives 
when none but Mrs. Post and her children were in the house. 
In or about 1792, the celebrated Saucy Nick entered the 
dwelling-store with another Indian, and learning that Mr, 
Post was absent, they demanded in most imperious and in- 
sulting tones of Mrs. P., pipes, " backer" and rum, Nick at 
the same time drawing his knife struck it into the countei 
liandle up, and also shut the door of the room. As they 
were about compelling Mrs. P. to draw more rum, she found 
an iion rod upon the floor, and seeing a hired man, named 
Ebenezer Henderson, passing the window, she called him in. 
Nick would not permit him to enter until he told him that 
he was called to get more rum. Mrs. P. then directed the 
man to throw the Indians out of the house, she. at the same 
instant striking the knife beyond their reach with, the rod, 
and with her assistance, her order was literally obeyed. Nick 
ever afterwards treated the family with proper respect. At 



■4j8 AXN'ALs of ONEIDA COV-MV. [CHAP. 

aaoiricr time, Mrs. P. interfered to put an end to a figlit 
among acveral Indians who had passed the night bv the 
kitchen fire, when one of them ruslicd toward her with hi.-* 
knife. She seized a chair with wliich she defended herself, 
until another Indian came to her relief by attacking her ad- 
versary- These instances are given to show the perils and 
dani^era under which the pioneers of this country began the 
work of reclaiming the forests to the use of civilized man. 
and as a few of the many instances which might be given of 
the spirit and courage of the women of those days. 

Mra. Petrie says: "As ours Ayas the first house which 
could accommodate travellers, a sign was put up, though re- 
luctantly, and my father kept tavern no longer than until 
some one with means, etc., could be prevailed on to leave 
a more privileged place to settle here, for the sole purpose of 
keeping a tavern. In those days men in that business were 
very independent, and if travellers or -movers' wished tr> 
' put up ' at a tavern, they had to help themselves, water 
their own horses or oxen, harness or yoke them again, an<l 
if t'aey asked to be served with aught, the landlord or hi.s 
familv would sometimes ask, ' who wag your waiter last year ? ' 
Sosietimes, if persons did not look well to themselves, they 
received rouo-h words and usage from these back-woods land- 
lordij." At that period, a sort of independence prevented the 
Yankees from doing anything which had the appearance of 
service. While Mr Post kept a tavern, upon one occasion. 
the celebrated Indian Chief, Joseph Brant, became his guest 
for a night. Brant was on his way to Canada, from the scat 
of government, where he had been to transact some business 
witk Confess. A.Mr. Chapin and another gentleman were 
also guests at the same time with him. The Chief called for 
one bottle of wine after another, until they were all in a pretty 
happy mood, when the two gentlemen declined drinking any 



xxiu.) : UTICA. 499 

more. After being repeatedly urged to drink, and as often de- 
clining, they were told by Brant sportively, that unlesa they 
drank he would pour it down their necks. Becoming somewhat 
mettled at their decided refusal, Brant made some other 
proposition to Mr. Chapin, and from something said or re- 
fused to be done by the latter, the Indian flew into a tower- 
ing passion. Angry woi-ds passed, and Brant dared Chapin 
to fight him, which the latter refused, and then tried by fair 
words and persuasion to satisfy the chief that no insult had 
been intended, but failing in this, he made an effort to leave 
the room — and the rest of the company also attempted to 
calm the excited passions of the great Mohawk warrior. 
Brant however drew his sword, and drove Chapin into a cor- 
ner of the room, and there by the most bitter taunts and re- 
proaches, by making passes at him with his weapon, and by 
rushing furiously towards him, attempted to compel him to 
light. Chapin coolly bared his breast and said, " I will not 
lay hands upon you, but here is my bare breast, pierce it with 
your sword, if a victim you wish.'' Mrs. Post, at this crisis, 
recollecting to have heard that an Indian could be moved by 
the sight of an infant, instantly took her youngest child, but 
a few months old, and holding it in her arms, placed herself 
in front of the infuriated Brant, telling him that he must 
destroy n^r and her child before he injured their guest and 
friend. " How would it have looked." she continued, " if sev- 
eral ladies had met here for a social visit, and they had ended 
it in strife ? Put up your sword, and here, take my babe and 
hold it as you often have the others — see, it smiles and you 
loDk so angry ! " The heart of the savage Thayendanegea 
was touched, he, who had revelled in scenes of blood and cru- 
elty at Oriskany, and in the whole extent of the Mohawk 
valley, was now conquered by the smiles and innocence of an 
infant. The expression of his features was instantly changed, 



500 ANNALS OF ONEtDA COUNTY. [clIAP. 

aiid laughing, he exclaimed, " what a fool I have been ! Cha 
pin, let us forgive each other." After this reconciliation, they 
retired. 3Ir. Post was not present, but this scene was wit- 
nessed by Mrs. Post and her children. 

July 13, 1792, Mr. Post purchased of the representatives 
of Gen. Bradstreet, eighty-nine and a half acres of lot 95, 
which now includes the heart of the city, and he had a lease 
of twenty-five years of a small piece of lot 94, where his store 
stood. Doing an extensive business, he was apparently pros-- 
perous, and doubtless in a few years amassed a considerable 
property. He had taken as a partner his son-in-law, Giles 
Hamlin, and in making collections they had received a large 
amount of wheat, pork, etc., to take to market, with which, 
and a large sum in bank notes, they intended to purchase 
largely for their several stores. This was in 1806 or 7, and 
a most disastrous fire swept away the whole, goods, money, 
etc., in a few minutes. Not more than $ 100 of the whoh^ 
was saved, and Mr. Post was ruined as to property. In th«' 
decline of life, with a family of seven daughters, he could not 
recover from the blow, nothing but a mere pittance could be 
saved, and broken in spirits, infirm from age, Mr. Post ended 
his days in penury and want. In view of his revolutionary 
services, and his efibrts to build up Utica in its infancy, he 
sometimes felt he ought to have been spared at least a home 
in the place. The Masonic Lodge, of which he had been an 
officer, aided him with a small sum on two occasions. Jif 
died December 6th, 1830. 

Mr. Post erected a warehouse of wood, three stories high. 
upon the river, and afterwards another of brick, which stood 
a few rods above the Mohawk bridge, at the foot of Genesee 
Street. It is now but a few years since that part of the 
brick warehouse left standing by time and the floods v/as 
taken down, the last relic of the navigation of the Mohawk, 



XXIU] UTICA. 501 

He owned several boats which were employed during the sea- 
son of navigation in taking produce, etc.. to Schenectady, 
and briuging.back merchandize and the families and effects 
of persons removing into the new country. After awhile he 
litted up three stage-boats, the Accommodation, the Diligence 
and another, with oil-cloth covers, seats, etc., for the accom- 
modation of travellers betv/een Utica and Schenectady, who 
preferred this mode to wagons and afterwards stages, over 
rough and muddy roads. Mr. Post was the first post-master 
iu this place, but held the office but a few year.g. 

In or soon after 1794, the following persons resided iu this 
place, and probably others whose names, or the dates of their 
removal thither, have not been ascertained, viz : Deacon Ste- 
phen Potter, farmer — date of his purchase given elsewhere — 
the father of the late Wm. P. Potter. He was an excellent 
man and citizen, a devoted Christian, and one of the founders 
of the first Presbyterian church. He died September 18. 1810. 
aged 72 years, and Sarah, his widow, died Marcli 18, 1812, 
aged 7;i years. Moses Bagg, senior, opened a tavern upon 
the site of the present Bagg's hotel, an establishment known 
by his name as far a.g any tavern in the country. He work- 
ed for a time at his trade of a blacksmith. He died Sept. 
12, 1805. aged 68 years, his wife having died the 21st of 
March preceding, aged 65 years. John House kept a tavern 
for feome time, on the corner of Grenesee and Main Streets, 
fronting the "■ wood market "' square. His oldest daughter 
became the wife of Myron Holley, a man distinguished iu 
western New York in the days of anti-masonry. G-urdou 
Burchard was a saddler, and many years afterwards kept the 
tavern known by his name, upon the site now occupied by 
the McGregor House, and after whom Burchard Street wa.^ 
named. This tavern wa.g destroyed during the great fire. 
March ol, 1837. 3Ir. Burchard died of cholera, August 18^ 



502 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

1832. Messrs. Join Hobby and Simeon Jones were black- 
smiths, and Mr. Hobby occupied a shop which stood upon 
or near the site of the eastern Rail-road depot. James P. 
Dorchester, hatter, had a shop on the westerly side of Gen- 
eKce road, the second above the corner of Whitesboro Street, 
and Mr. Eggleston, a cooper, had a shop a little above, and 
opposite Dorchester's. These were probably all the building.? 
on Genesee above the line of Whitesboro, except House's 
tavern and the store of Stephen Ford opposite. Mr. Ford 
(lied soon afterwards and his widow became the wife of Mr. 
Alvcrson. Peter Smith had a small log store near the river, 
and east of Genesee Street. In 1793, he erected a pot-ashery 
upon the creek, where the gulf basin now is. He also erected 
the dwelling afterward.s occupied by Judge Miller, in which 
he resided a short time. 

On the 19th of July, 1791. Evans and Gould sold lot 96. 
containing 400 acres, to James S. Kip, who sold 117 acres to 
the late Judge Apollos Cooper, April 11, 1795. About this 
time (1794), J. S. Kip built a small log house near tlie east 
'^nd of Main Street, and near the site subsequently occupied by 
the elegant residence of Hon. Morris S. Miller, above men- 
tioned. (This once beautiful residence has been occupied for 
years past by negroes, and the very dregs of the city, and 
liaving become untenantable even for them, is being demol- 
i.shed.) Mr. Kip established a landing upon the river nearly 
in front of his house, at the mouth of Ballou's (Gulf) creek, 
wishing to draw the commerce of the river, and the naviga- 
tion thereof, to that part of the town. For many years Mr. 
Kip was one of the most prominent men of the place. He 
was sheriff of the county several years, and held other impor- 
tant posts. He erected the finest mansion in the place at 
the time, of cut stone, on the westerly side of Broadway, a 
?hort distance south of where the Erie Canal was afterwards 



XXIII.] UTicA. 503 

constructed. Tlie canal, however, ruined the grounds around 
it, and flowed into the cellar, aad upon its enlargement, 
the house had to be taken down. Mr. Kip died Augufjfc 
27, 1831, aged 64 years. Thomas and Augustus Corey, 
farmers, purchased 200 acres of lot 95, July 5, 1791, 
and resided on the northerly side of Whitesboro Street, a 
few rods west of Genesee, and Nov. 2, 1795, they sold out to 
Messrs. Boon and Lineklaen, agents of the Holland Land 
(Jonipan}'. This land, or a part of it, was more generally 
known to the early settlers as the Hotel lot, as the Holland 
Company erected upon it the first brick house in the place^, 
the large hotel, known many years as the York Hou.se, now 
the three story double dwelling house, next above the Bank 
fif Utica and Hotel Street, was laid out upon this land. The 
■site of the York House was probably at one time the largest 
and deepest flag pond within the bounds of the village. The 
Coreys removed to parts unknown, and the author has fou)id 
no farther traces of them. Dr. Samuel Carrington, one of tlie 
<3arliest physicians in the place, resided a short distance up 
Whitesboro Street from Genesee, and being unmarried board- 
ed with his sister, Mrs. Foster, the widow of a Presbyterian 
clergyman. Dr. Carrington resided in the place as early a^ 
tliis time (1794). In ISOO, Dr. C. kept a store for the sale 
• >f drugs, paints, dye-stuffs, and '• books on subjects worthy 
the attention of every person," etc., etc., and in his adver- 
tisement in the Columhia^i Gazette^ published at Rome, in 
that year, he says, " all which he is determined to sell for very 
Jow prices, for ready pay, having found from sad experience 
that credit is the bane of trade, he declines granting that in- 
idulgence in future, and would rather cry over, than after bin 
goods." He was the second post-master in the village, rau! 
was succeeded by Dr. Hitchcock. 

In 1791, Peter Bellinger purchased 150 acrcs.apart of lot 



501 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHA? 

89, and not fiir from this time, and according to some accounts 
as early as March, 1788, Col. John Bellinger became a resi- 
dent of the place. He was a native of the Mohawk A-allev. 
had been a soldier in the Revolution, and was at the Oris- 
kany battle, as was his brother-in-law, Mr. Smith, the father 
of Col. Nicholas Smith, now one of the oldest residents of the 
city. In 1783, the father and motlier of Col. Smith weri' 
killed at Herkimer, by Indians and tories, while he and a 
brother and sister, all very young, were in the fort at that 
})laee. The Colonel was then adojDtcd by his uncle, Col. Bellin- 
ger, and Avhen under ten years of age came to this place with 
him, where he has ever since resided. He still preserves, 
with much care and veneration, the fowling-piece used by his 
uncle at Oriskany. Col. Bellinger died October 9, 1 815, aged 
lifty-five years. According to some accounts, the daughter 
of Col. Bellinger, afterwards the wife of Joshua Ostrom, and 
mother of Henry B. Ostrom of this city, v.-as the first white 
person born in the place. The next six or eight years from 
this time, down to about the year ISOO, made many changes 
ill the population, business and appearance of the place. 

A law was passed March 28, 1797, authorizing the raising 
of $ 45,000 by lotteries, to be expended in improving various 
roads in this state, of which $ 2.200 were appropriated to tin- 
improvement of the "•• great Genesee road "' between •• old Fort 
Schuyler '"' and Geneva, and @ 400 were directed to be paid to 
John Pt)st, Nathan Smith and Isaac Brayton, for erecting a 
bridge over the Mohawk at old Fort Schuyler. This was 
doubtless the first bridge over the Mohawk at the footof (jlen- 
cscc Street. In the summer of 1792, a bridge was built acro.'-s 
the river between First and Second Streets, but which was not 
probably a very durable structure. The location and construc- 
tion of tlie Seneca turnpike from this point westward and tiic 
erection of this bridge were among the first movements which 



XXIII.J UTICA. 505 

gave Utiea a start, and secured for it a share of tlie busiuess 
theretofore monopolized by Rome and other places, in the 
vicinity. 

The late Jason Parker was one of the earlier residents of 
tlie place, and arrived probably about the year 1794. 

]>y an act passed March 31, 1804, the exclusive right was 
granted to Jason Parker and Levi Stephens, of running 
istage wagons from Utica to Cauandaigua, under certain re- 
strictions and regulations for seven years from the first of 
. June, then next. Tvro trips were to be made in each week : 
lio more than five cents per mile could be charged for con- 
veying passengers ; no more than seven full-grown personr^ 
could be taken at once in any stage without the unauimou.'^ 
consent of those aboard ; if there were four persons more than 
a stage load they were entitled to an extra ; four stages and 
teams v/ere to be kept on the road in use, or ready for use ; and 
Ijetween June 1st and October 1st, the trip was to be madt 
in forty-eight hours. 

The first mail to this place was conveyed by Simeon Pooi. 
in 1793, under an arrangement with the post-office depart- 
]nent, authorizing the transportation of the mail from Cana- 
johario to Whitestown, a distance of fifty miles, the inhabi- 
tant.s upon the route paying the expense. The post-rider was 
allowed twenty-eight hours to make a trip, and the same to 
return. This contract soon passed into the hands of Mr. 
Parker, and he carried the mail for a time on horseback, hi.'i 
wife sometimes taking his place, when he could be more profi- 
tably engaged in other employments. Thus he commenced, 
by such humble beginnings, a business which, within his life 
time, was increased to one of the largest business organiza- 
tions ever formed in the place. At the time of his decease 
there were eight daily lines of stages running through Utica 
east and west, besides twelve daily, semi-weekly or weekly 



500 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [clIAr. 

lines running north and south, with the departure and arri- 
val of 108 stages with sixty mails weekly, in most of which he 
was or had been interested. Besides these were two daily 
lines of packets upon the canal to Schenectady, and one to 
JJuffalo and one to Syracuse. Shortly prior to the year 1800, 
Mr. Parker resided in a small log house upon Main Street, 
a little west of First Street. Utica was greatly indebted to 
him for her extraordinary means of intercourse with various 
parts of the state. Mr. Parker died Sept. 23, 1830, aged 
*-':xty-,seven year.s. 

Bryan Johnson, the fatlier of Alexander B. Johnson, ar- 
rived at this village, July 4, 1797, from England. • lie was 
so well pleased with the position of the village, then called 
old Fort Schuyler, that he made it his residence, though when 
he came he intended to merely rest a few days and proceed 
to Canada. The day he arrived, being the anniversary of in- 
dependence, a public dinner was given in a grove, in rear of 
where the York House before named, was subsequently erect- 
»^d, and an oration was pronounced by Francis A. Bloodgood. 
tlieu just out of his clerkship, and about commencing the 
practice of law in the place. The village had, however, two 
fawyers already, Nathan Williams, afterwards circuit judge, 
and Erastus Clark. At this time if sucli luxuries as loaf 
sugar, green tea, etc., were required, and if the smaller stocks 
of the merchants here were exhausted, they could be obtained 
of William Gr. Tracy, at the older settlement of AVliitesboro. 
Clark and Fellows then kept the largest store in Utica, and 
John Post kept goods mostly for Indian trade. The nearest 
market for the sale of wheat and potashes in considerable 
quantities, was at the store of James and Archibald Kane, at 
<'anajoharie, who then kept the best assortment of European 
is.nd West India goods, to be found west of Schenectady. 
Kane's store was celebrated throughout a large extent of 



XXIH.] TJTICA. o07 

country, and was resorted to by persons who bad produce to 
sell, or who desired to make considerable purchases, and they 
transacted a very extensive business in both purchasing and 
selling. After a few days, Mr. Johnson established himself 
in business in a small building previously used as a black- 
smith's shop, which stood opposite the site of the McGregor 
house, and commenced the purchase of country produce for 
money, which was a novelty in the business transactions of 
Fort Schuyler, and arrested thefiowof produce to the Kane's. 
He also procured a good assortment of goods which he sold 
at prices unusually low, thereby detering buyers as well as 
.sellers from resorting to Canajoharie. This sort of competi- 
tion shortly induced the Kane's to close their store and re- 
move toUtica, where under the firm of Kane and Van Picns- 
selaer, they long carried on an extensive business in rivalry 
of Mr. Johnson. By these active competitions, this place 
speedily out-stripped the neighboring villages and became the 
centre of an extensive trade in the purchase of produce and 
the sale of goods, and all conducted on the principal of cash 
payments. The fame of Utica for selling low and purchasing 
produce at high prices, attracted trade from the whole region 
of the state lying west and north, and also brought hither 
new traders to compete with the houses already established. 
Among the new merchants were John C. Devcreux, Watts 
Shearman, John Bissell, Daniel Thomas and several others, 
whose joint and vigorous enterprise made Utica the first and 
most active place in the state west of Albany, and where lux- 
uries and nearly every convenience could at all times be pro- 
cured at reasonable prices. Mr. Johnson retired from a very 
successful business about the year 1810. For several years 
he occupied a large brick store on the west side of Genesee 
Street, just below the Ontario Branch Bank. The last 
earthly record respecting Mr. Johnson is as follows : " Here 



50S ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP, 

lies Bryan Johuson, the lamented father of xiiexauder B. 
Johnson. He was a native of England. His mercantile en- 
terprise gave Utica its first impulse. For paternal affection 
he had no equal — for knowledge of the ways of man no supe- 
rior. His life was abstemious and cheerful, his death in- 
stantaneous, on the 12th of April, 1824, in the seventy-fifth 
year of his age, and in the vigorous possession of all his fac- 
ulties." 

3Iessrs. Kane and Van Ilensselaer continued in business 
for several years longer than Mr. Johnson. John C Dever- 
t;ux emigrated from Ireland in 1799, and came immediately 
to Oneida County. To the youth and middle-aged, in tlio 
county, at that early period, Mr. Devereux was extensively 
known as the teacher of the polite accomplishment of dancing 
:ind as a proficient in discoursing sweet music upon the vio- 
lin, as well as by his polite and gentlemanly manners. In a 
few years he was as extensively known for his active and 
careful business habits and talents. His brother Nicholas 
Devereux came to America in 1806. John C. Devereux 
commenced business as a merchant near the lower end of 
(Jcnesee Street. For several years he was extensively en- 
gaged in the commerce and navigation of the Mohawk river, 
occupying a large warehouse upon it, so constructed that 
boats could be run under a projecting portion of the 
))uilding, from whence they were loaded and unloaded with 
(•<)mparative ease. His store, for some time, stood upon the 
site of the Bleecker house, below Bagg's hotel, and after- 
wards he owned and occupied the brick store opposite, about 
midway between Whitcsboro Street and the rail road. The 
success and reputation of Mr Devereux were a fine illustra- 
tion of what may be accomplished by industry, integrity and 
♦'uergy, unaided by wealth or family, " when left free to com- 
bat " with fortune under the benign influences of our free iii- 



XXIII.] UTICA. 500 

stitutions. He was not only successful ift amassing wealth, 
bat earned the respect and good-will of all classes, and during 
the whole of his life identified himself with all the interests 
of the village and city, and freely contributed for excrj ob- 
ject of public utility. During life, a sincere adherent to the 
Catholic church, it is doubted whether a house of worship wa« 
erected in Utica within the almost half century lie was a res^ 
ident here, to which he did not contribute. For the present 
church edifice of St. John's Catholic church, he contributed 
upwards of @ 12,000. For the last fifteen or twenty years of 
his life he withdrew gradually from active life. In 1839 and 
40 he was mayor of the city, having been the first directly 
elected to tha.t ofiice by the votes of the electors, and filled 
the office with honor to himself and the approbation of the 
citizen^. He died on the 11th of Dec. 1848, aged 74 years. 

Watts Shearman was a carpenter and joiner, and prior to 
the year 1800 kept a small shop in a part of his story and a 
lialf dwelling on Main Street, just below First Street, where 
he sold " cake and beer" and the other et ceteras usual to a 
small grocery. Increasing his business, and manifesting sii- 
perior business talents, he quit his trade, and took rank among 
the most successful merchants in Utica. He occupied a store 
upon the west side of G-enesee, a little below the line of Broad 
Street. Subsequently, Mr. Shearman removed to New York, 
where he prosecuted an extensive business. 

Francis A. Bloodgood was probably the third lawyer that 
commenced business in Utica. For many years he was clerk 
of the county, and was identified with all the prominent mea- 
Hures for the advancement of the village. He resided upon 
or near the site of the McG-regor House, and removed to 
Ithaca many years since, where he died. 

Died, in this village, December 23d, 1822, Dr. John Clark, 
.aged ninety-four yearB, and December 14th, 1823, Jerusha, 



OIO ANNALS OF ONEIDA COyNTT. [CHAP- 

liis widow, aged ninety-two years, of Lebanon, Coun., where 
they lived till advanced age, when they came to Utica to re- 
side with their son, Erastus Clark, Esq. Erastus Clark was 
born at Lebanon, May 1 Ith. 17G8. At an early age he grad- 
uated at Dartmouth College, under the younger President 
Wlieelock. At the age of twenty-two he was admitted to the 
Bar of the Superior Court of his native State. In 1791 he 
removed to Clinton, then a part of Whitestown, and after be- 
ing admitted to the courts of this State, commenced the prac- 
tice of law in a land of strangers, without patronage, desti- 
tute of property, without the advantages of captivating man- 
ners or address, and without the fascination of soul-stirring 
eloquence. His success in his profession was, therefore, slow, 
but his learning, industry and character for probity, gradu- 
ally raised him to a highly respectable professional rank. In 
J 797, he removed to old Fort Schuyler, which, as a proposi- 
tiuu first proceeding from him, in the nest year received the 
name of Utica. During his residence here he filled many 
offices of high public trust with strict fidelity, disinterested 
zeal and independent firmness. His name was proverbial 
for originality and decision of character. An enlightened 
conscience was his habitual guide, and if from precipitancy 
or irritation, his head sometimes erred, there was a redeeming 
principle in his heart which reclaimed and regulated his 
erring judgment and passions. Neither the frowns nor flat- 
teries of friends or foes could move him from what he deemed 
the course of duty and integrity. He was never known to 
offer the incense of flattery to any one, and what others 
thcmght he spoke, and his frankness sometimes appeared ill- 
timed and excessive — and this naked and unreserved habit 
of mind and expression, frequently gave offence when he was 
unconscious of it. Those who knew Mr. Clark best, esteemed 
him most. He was liberal in hie v'bari'Jea and generous in 



XXIII. J UTICA. 511 

promoting bcucvolent objects and public institutions, whiij 
no man was less indulgent to his own appetite, or uioi'e self 
denying in his pleasures and personal gratifications, and in his 
habits of living he was simple, plain and frugal. The relig 
iou.s character of Mr. Clark was free from ostentation, but 
iniform, consistent, sincere and ardent— and he lived and 
died in the same Christian faith and practice in which he waa 
reared under the benign influences of the religion and insti- 
tutions of New England. Mr. Clark died in this place on 
the 7th of November, 1825. He resided for years upon the 
west side of Genesee, nearly opposite to the entrance to Cath- 
arine Street. 

Creneral Joseph Kirkland was among the earliest lawyers, 
in this section, having been admitted several years prior to 
the organization of Oneida County. He was a native of 
Connecticut, graduated at Yale College, settled in New Hart- 
ford in 1794, and removed to Utica in 1813. He was dia 
tinguished for much dignity and decision of character, and 
])OSoessed a fair share of talents as a lawyer, united with great 
industr}^ and perseverance in his profession. He was a man 
of strict integrity and honor, and although rigid and unyield- 
ing in his views and his actions consequent upon them, he 
shared largely in the respect of community. For many years 
jiis business was very extensive, especially in that of collect- 
ing for merchants. He represented this county repeatedly 
in the State Assembly, was a member of Congress, was ap 
pointed the first mayor of Utica, was District Attorney when 
this District included several counties, and held other posts 
of trust and honor, always with credit to himself and strict 
Jidelity to his constituents. Mr. Kirkland was bora January 
18th, 1770, and died February 2d, 1844. 

Oen. Kirkland was the last of that class of eminent law 
yers, who reflected so much honor upon this county and their 



512 ANNAL3 OF OXEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr. 

'i{>rofessioH, between 1795 and 1820. Besides those already 
named, Ive was the cotemporary of Piatt, Grold, Sill and 
^Storrs, of Whitesboro, men who will be remembered and 
appreciated as long as Caine's and Johnson's lleports remain 
authorities as to the copimon law of our State. At the time 
those men were at the zenith of their strength and power, it 
required no ordinary amount of courage and talent to acquire 
a business standing at the bar of Oneida. Gen. Kirkland 
was a distant relative of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, the 
missionary to the Oneida Indians. 

Nathan Williams was born at Williamstown, Mass., Doc. 
19, 1773, of most respectable parents, his father lost his en- 
tire property by the vicissitudes of the Revolution. At the 
age of thirteen, young Williams left his home with but a few 
cents in his pocket, '■ to seek his fortune " in the wide world. 
He first came to Troy, where by his perseverance and excel- 
lent character he was enabled to obtain the advantages of an 
education, and while young, was admitted to practice in tlie 
riourts of this state. He commenced the practice of law in 
this place about the year 1796. Among those who grew up 
with the place, sharing in the labors and moral and intellec- 
tual privations of a newly settled countr}'', he was universally 
respected for his virtues and talents. He was district attor-^ 
ney, a member of both branches of the state legislature, a 
member of the state constitutional convention of 1821, and :i 
member of Congress. For many years he held the very la- 
borious and responsible office of circuit judge in this district. 
As early as 1804, he was the candidate for Congress of the 
democratic party in his congressional district. At an earlier 
period he was president of the village, and held several im- 
portant trusts under the National government. In the war 
of 1812 he left his family and extensive business, and shoul- 
•dering his musket and knapsack, joined the American army 



XXIII.] TJTICA. 513 

at Sacketts Harbor, tlien under the command of his brother- 
in-law, Gen. Jacob Brown. Mr. Williams resided almost 
forty years upon the northerly side of Whitesboro Street, 
nearly opposite Hotel Street, and removed to Geneva upon 
receiving the appointment of clerk of the supreme court, 
where he died. He died universally lamented, September 
25, 1 835, and his remains were brought to Utica for inter- 
ment, and here his family have since resided. 

David Ostrom was a soldier in the Revolution, and among 
the earliest settlers in Oneida County. About the year 
1790 or 91, he removed from Dutchess County to New Hart- 
ford, and afterwards lived in Paris, from whence he removed 
to Utica, about the year 1807. Upon the organization of 
Oneida County in 1798, Mr. Ostrom was appointed one of 
the county judges, which office he held until the year 1815, 
with the exception of three years, in which his name was 
omitted from the general Commission of the Peace for the 
county. Although not educated for the bar, he was in 1812 
admitted ex gratia, an attorney and counsellor of the county 
courts, and by an advertisement of that period it seems that 
he opened an office in Utica. He also represented the coun- 
ty in the assembly for several years from its organization. 
He was a man of sound practical sense and judgment and 
shared largely in the good will of community. David Ostrom 
died March 17, 1821, aged 68 years. Joshua Ostrom, his 
.son, died October 4, 1828. Gen. John H. Ostrom, another 
son, was distinguished as a political leader, and for the urban- 
ity of his manners. As a lawyer, of fair talents, he was not 
prominent in his profession, he was a man of great activity, 
and was prosperous in his various undertakings. He held 
the offices of clerk of the county, mayor of the city and vari- 
ous other posts of honor and profit. He was highly respect- 
ed by an extensive circle of acquaintances for his integrity 

33 



514 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

and the correctness of his habits, sentiments and principles. 
He died August 10, 1845, aged fifty-one years. 

Died, in this village, in April, 1803, Dr. John Cochrau, 
Director-general of the military hospitals of the United States 
in the war of the Revolution, aged 76 years. 

The following anecdote relating to Major James Cochrau, 
went the rounds of the newspapers in 1850. and is given a.s- 
it was found, with the explanation that Mr. Lossing's work 
is considered pretty good authority. Major Cochran at the 
time of his election to Congress resided at Canajoharie, and 
his competitor was Judge Cooper, of Cooperstown, the father 
of Cooper, the novelist. He afterwards removed to Utica, 
where he resided several years, and fi'om thence he removed, 
to Oswego, where he was appointed post-master. He was 
the son of Dr. Cochran above named, and married a daughter 
of Gen. Philip Schuyler, who is believed to be still living at 
Oswego. Major C. died at that place some two or three 
years ago. 

" The M.iN WHO FiDDL.'CD Himself into Cosokehh. — Major Coch- 
ran, who is now, or wii8 quite receutly, living in L'swego, N. Y., and 
who was a member of tho House of Represyulatives dudng the ad- 
ministration of the elder Adams, used to say that he fiddled hiuiselt 
into Congress. A sliort time previous to iii.s election, a vessel was to 
be launched in Seneca Lake, at Geneva, and it being an unusuul 
event, people came from afar to see it. The young folks gathered 
there determined to have a dance at night. A fiddle was procured, 
but a fiddler was wanting. Major Cochran was then quite an ama- 
teur performer, and his services were demanded on the occasion. 
He gratified the joyous company, and at the supper table one of the 
gentlemen remarked in commendation of his talents, that he was ' fit 
for Congress.' The hint was favorably received by the company, 
the matter was 'talked up,' and he was nominated and elected to 
Congress for the district then comprising the whole State of New 
York west of Schenectady. The incident is reflated in Lossmg's 
Field Book of the Revolutioa." 



XXIU.] UTICA. 515 

Col. Benjamin Walker was a native of England, and came 
to New York city prior to the Revolution, where he was en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits. He served as an officer during 
the entire period of the war with considerable distinction, and 
was a sincere and warm friend to the United States. As an 
aid to Washington, he was for some time a member of the 
military family of the commander-in-chief. Upon the arri- 
val of Baron Steuben in 1777, Col. Walker joined his staff, 
and a warm personal friendship existed between the two as 
long as the Baron lived. Col. Walker and Col. William 
North, another of the Baron's aids, were appointed by the 
Baron, in his will, his executors, and he devised to the two a 
large share of his property. Soon after the Baron's death in 
1794. and as early as 1797, Col. Walker removed to old 
Fort Schuyler, where he resided the remainder of his life. 
Col. Walker was a man of intelligence and refinement, and 
was identified with the early growth and progress of Utica. 
He devised a considerable portion of his property to a natur- 
al daughter who became the wife of Major Combs, a French 
officer then residing in Utica. Upon the accession of Louis 
Philip to the throne of France, Major Combs had liberty to 
return to his native country, and from whence with the rank 
of Colonel, he was soon after dispatched to Algiers, where he 
was killed at the head of his regiment, while storming a for- 
tification. Mrs. Combs recently died in France, and it is yet 
problematical whether any heirs of her mother will make 
good a claim to her property in land and money in Utica. 
Col. Walker died January 13, 1818, aged sixty-five years. 

In 1803, Drs. Solomon Wolcott and Francis Guiteau, Jr., 
were practicing physicians in this place in partnership, and 
also kept for sale " opposite the hotel " a supply of drugs and 
medicines. Dr. Guiteau was a brother of the late Dr. Lu- 
ther Guiteau of Trenton, and Calvin Guiteau, the latter of 



616 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAF. 

whom for many years after, about 1790, was extensively en- 
gaged in this section as a surveyor. Dr. F. Gruiteau came to 
the place several years previously to 1803, and remained 
subsequently to 1814, and was distinguished as a physician 
and surgeon. Dr. TVolcott, in the firm of S. Wolcott & Co. in 
1812, and in 1813 as a partner with the late John Williams, 
carried on an extensive business in the sale of drugs, groce- 
ries, etc. Dr. Wolcott died October 30, 1818, aged forty- 
nine j'ears. Mr. Williams arrived in Utica a poor Welsh 
boy, and first as an assistant in and about the office, garden 
and stable of Dr. Wolcott, then a clerk in the store, then a 
partner, afterwards was the successor of the Dr. in the mer- 
cantile part of the business. Mr. Williams became one of 
the most successful and wealthy merchants ever in Utica, and 
his course was an illustration of what may be accomplished, 
without money or family influence to begin with, by integ- 
rity, energy and perseverance. He died June 13, 1843, aged 
fifty-two years. 

In 1804, Drs. Alexander Coventry and D. Hasbrouck 
were practicing physicians in Utica, as partners. Dr. Cov- 
entry, the father of the present Dr. Coventry, was born 
near Hamilton, in Scotland, August 2G, 1766, and died Dec. 
9, 1831. In 1812 and 14, Dr. Hasbrouck was a druggist in 
this place. 

James Delvin emigrated from Ireland in 1801, and soon 
became a resident of Utica. Upon his decease he left by 
his will to collateral relatives considerable real estate, 
now among the most valuable in the city. The manner in 
which wealth is sometimes forced upon persons, is illustrated 
by the following account of the circumstances under which 
Mr. Delvin acquired this property. " It is said that he had 
loaned to one of our citizens a few hundred dollars, and the 
latter failing, he was compelled to take an acre or two of land 



Kxm.] UTiCA. 517 

lyiug upon Genesee, Liberty and Hotel Streets, or entirely 
lose Lis debt." The land was then (a short time before the 
canal was laid out) considered worth very little, except for 
u goose pasture, being nothing but a bog, but he took it, 
hoping eventually to realize a trifle from it, but sorrowing 
much, on account of the loss of his money. The Erie Canal 
brought this land into the heart of the place. Mr. Delvin 
died December 19, 1825, aged sixty years. 

Apollos Cooper became a resident of old Fort Schuyler in 
1795, and on the 11th of April, in that year, purchased of 
James S. Kip 117 acres of lot 96, known as the Cooper prop- 
erty, extending from the river nearly to the point formed by 
Genesee and State Streets. Mr. Cooper was identified with 
the growth and prosperity of the city and county for nearly 
forty-five years. " His integrity, sound judgment and irre- 
proachable life secured him the respect and esteem of all who 
knew him." In 1805, he was appointed a county judge and 
held the office five years; in 1815, he was appointed sheriff, 
and held the office several years, and in 1823, he was a mem- 
ber of assembly. On the 2d of April, 1839, " as a shock of 
corn fully ripe he was gathered to his fathers " in the seventy- 
third year of his age, " and tlie odor of a good name will long 
hallow his memory." 

Talcott Camp was born at Durham, Conn., March 4, 1762, 
and served in the Commissary department during most of the 
Revolutionary contest. From Durham he removed to Glas- 
tonbury, where he was several years a merchant. In 1 796, 
he removed to this place, where he was for many years a suc- 
cessful and enterprising merchant. For a series of years, he 
was an upright and esteemed magistrate of the town of Whites- 
town, residing in Utica, and in 1809, and the five following 
years, was president of the village. He was a man of ster- 
ling sense and judgment, and in an eminent degree enjoyeu 



518 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP- 

the respect of community. He was the father of our old 
merchants, Harry and John Camp, and of the late Mrs. W_ 
F. Potter. He died Sept. 5, 1832, aged 70 years. 

Capt. James Hopper was a native of England, and for 
many years was in command of various vessels in the En- 
glish merchant service, sailing to different parts of the world, 
occasionally owning shares in his vessels and cargoes. For 
a time he commanded an armed vessel under orders from the 
British Admiralty, sailing with letters of marque in the war 
between England and France. His vessel having been taken, 
he and his crew were carried to France as prisoners, and he 
was afterwards exchanged for the celebrated French Marshal 
Junot, who had been taken by the British in Egypt. Capt. 
Hopper came to America in 1801, and soon settled in Utica, 
where he purchased considerable real estate. He was the 
father of Thomas and George J. Hopper. Capt. Hopper 
died May IG, 1816, aged fifty-eight years. 

In 1798, Charles Easton was a painter and glazier in 
Utica, and kept paint, glass, etc., for sale. In 1813, he was a 
merchant doing an extensive business in the sale of paints, 
oils, etc. 

In 1804, Dr. Marcus Hitchcock was post-master of Utica, 
but when appointed the author has been unable to learn. For 
nearly foi*ty years subsequently he was a druggist, also doing 
a large business in the sale of patent medicines. He remov- 
ed to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he died but a few years 
since. Dr. Hitchcock was succeeded as post-master by James 
Piatt, who held the office but a short time, and was succeed- 
ed by Augustine Cr. Dauby, near the commencement of Gen. 
Jackson's administration. Mr. Dauby held the office twenty 
years, and was succeeded by Joseph H. Shearman, soon? after 
Gen. Taylor entered upon the Presidency. 

Thomas Skinner was a lawyer, and an active member of 



xxm.] UTicA. 519 

the democratic party in this place, where he resided about 
forty years. He died June 19, 1848, aged seventy years. 

About the SSth of May, 1796, Mr. William McLean es- 
tablished in New Hartford (then in Whitestown), the 
Whitestou-n Gazette^ the second paper established in the 
county, the first being the " Western Sentinel" printed in 
Whitesboro. Mr. McLean emigrated from Hartford, Conn. 
In 1798 he removed his paper to Utica, " near the post-office," 
where he continued its publication under the name of 
■" Wliitesto7cn 'Gazette and Catds Patrol." The No. in 
possession of the author is Vol. III. No. 117, dated August 
27, 1798. This was the first paper published in XJtiea. In 
1803, Mr. SIcLean was obliged by ill health to relinquish his 
paper, and sold out to John H. Xathrop, Esq. A few years 
after. Asahel Seward and Ira Merrill started a weekly paper 
called the " Patriot" and after a while the two papers merg- 
ed in the Patriot. In 1821, the name of the paper was 
changed to '■'■Utica Sentinel" and in 1825, upon being united 
with the " Columbian Gazette" as a result of Clintonianism, 
the paper was named the " Sentinel and Gazette" and in 
1834, the name was changed to " Oneida Whig" the daily 
issue of which is the Gcrzettc again. Mr. McLean after va- 
rious vicissitudes of fortune, and after a residence of a few 
years at Vernon Village, established liimself at Cherry Val- 
ley, where he resided the last thirty years of his life " enjoy- 
ing to an unusual degree the good will and esteem of the 
community in which he lived." He cFied March 12, 1848, 
aged seventy-three years. Mr. Seward was an apprentice to 
Mr. McLean in the Gazette office, before its removal to this 
place. For many years he was extensively engaged in the 
printing, publishing, and book-selling business. He died 
January 30, 1835, aged 53 years. 

About the 1st of August. 1799, Thomas Walker, Esq. es- 



520 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

tablislied the - Columbian Patriotic Gazette " at Home, and 
coutiuued its publication upwards of two years. The imprint 
of the papei- says it was printed by Thomas Walker for 
Eaton & Walker. About the first of March, 1803, Mr. 
Walker having removed to Utica, commenced the " Colum- 
bian Gazette" and continued its publication for a long series 
of years as the organ of the " democratic republican " party, 
as the " Whitestoivn Gazette]'' and its successor, the '• Patri- 
ot]'' were of the '• federal " party. In the division of the 
democratic party, originating among the friends and oppo- 
nents of DeAVitt Clinton, as a candidate for the Presidency, 
Mr. Walker belonged to the Clintonian branch. In 1825, he 
sold the Gazette to Messrs. William J. Bacon and Samuel 
D. Dakin, by whom the Gazette and Scntiticl were united. 
Although still alive, the author feels himself at full liberty 
to say, that no man in Utica has ever earned a fairer title to 
the good will and respect of the people than Mr. Walker. 
He was elected as the successor of Mr. Huntington, the 
President of the Utica Bank. Ebenezer Eaton, the partner 
of Mr. Walker in the Gazette at Rome, came from Vermont, 
and remained at Home but a short time. He then removed 
to Aurora, Cayuga County, where he published a paper for a 
short period, and then returned to Vermont, where he con- 
ducted the " North Star " for many years, and where it is 
understood he still resides. He is a brother of the celebra- 
ted Gen. Eaton, who served under Gen. Wayne, and after- 
wards espoused the cause of Hamet, the dethroned Bashaw 
of Tripoli, in his attempts to regain the government. 

John H. Lathrop succeeded Mr. McLean as the conductor 
of the Whitestou')i Gazette and Catd's Patrol, and was con- 
nected with it and its successor nearly or quite to the close of his 
life. The addition to the name of the paper of " Catd's PatroV' 
Lad reference to the younger Cato who was the defender of 



XXIII.] UTICA. 521 

ancient Utica, a place destroyed and almost forgotten many 
hundreds of years before its name was transferred to a little 
village in the back woods of America. Mr. Lathrop died, 
June 15, 1829, aged fifty-eight years, and was interred in the 
private burying ground south of Water Street, within a few 
days after it was opened. He was born in New Haven, 
Conn., and graduated at Yale College, with honor, at an early 
age. Having chosen the profession of law, he was admitted 
and practiced in the courts of his native state for a short pe- 
riod with distinction. As a man and citizen he was highly 
respected, and was identified with almost every measure for 
building up the place. " As a gentleman, a scholar, and 
Christian, by the purity of his life and manners, by his fine 
genius and extensive attainments, he became the pride of 
an extensive circle of friends, and an honor to his race." 

The " Wester?i Sentviel" was established at Whitesboro, 
the first of January, 1794, by Oliver P. Easton, who had 
been fitted out for that purpose by the Messrs. Swords of 
New York, but he remained only a short period, and was 
succeeded by a Mr. Lewis, who was the publisher in the 
summer of 1799. This was the first newspaper printed in 
the county, and was continued about six years. The prin- 
ting office was " near the post-office in AVhitestown, Herkimer 
County, New York." The Wkitcstaivn Gazette was subse- 
quently established by McLean, at New Hartford, in the 
town of Whitestown. 

Eliasaph Dorchester was for a time connected with Mr. 
Walker in the publication of the Columbian Gazette^ and 
afterwards was connected with the Oneida Observer. The 
Observer was established near the commencement of the year 
1816, as the organ of the party which elected Messrs. Madi- 
son and Monroe to the Presidency, and in opposition to Gov. 
DeWitt Clinton as a candidate for the Presidency, and tho 



522 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CBAP. 

Clintonian party. As early as 1824, the Observer was prin- 
ted by A. G. Dauby, who edited it many years after be par- 
ted with his interest in the publishing department. These 
notices of the several papers were deemed proper in this 
place in connection with the names of Messrs. McLean and 
Walker. 

Joseph Ballou, the father of Obadiah, and Jerathmael 
Ballou, and Mrs. E. B. Shearman, arrived in the vicinity of 
old Fort Schuyler in the spring of 1792, and settled in what 
is now East Utica, below the Basin. The Gulf Creek, run- 
ning through the " Big Basin " was for many years known as 
Ballou's Creek. Mr. Ballou died about the year 1810. Col. 
Benjamin Ballou, a cousin of the latter, arrived in this place 
as early as 1798, and died Nov. 18, 1840, aged seventy years. 
In 1804, Obadiah Ballou above named, was extensively en- 
gaged as an agent of Richard Lee of New York, in the sale 
of patent medicines in Utica, as appears by an advertisement 
of two columns in the Columbian Gazette. From the cer- 
tificates and puffs it is evident that " certain remedies " and 
" infallible medicines " were known and used by our ances- 
tors, but notwithstanding, as strange as it seems, flesh is still 
heir to di-sease and mortality. 

Morris S. Miller was in early life the private secretary of 
the distinguished patriot, John Jay, while Governor of this 
state. Soon afterwards he commenced the practice of law in 
Lowville, now in Lewis County, and early in the present cen- 
tury, having married a daughter of Mr. Bleecker of Albany, 
Mr. Miller removed to Utica. lie was a member of Con- 
gress from this district in 1812, when war was declared 
against Great Britain. He was appointed first judge of this 
county, March 5, 1810. and held the ofiice by re-appointments 
until his decease. Mr. Miller died in Utica, Nov. 16, 1824, 
aged forty-four years, and his remains rest in the family vault 



xxm.] TTTiCA. 523 

of the Bleeckers in Albany. He was a man of fair talents, 
many acquirements, polished manners, and enjoyed the friend- 
ship and esteem of an extensive circle, among whom were 
many of the first men in the country. 

Arthur Breese was one of the prominent men of this sec- 
tion, while yet a' new country. His paternal grand-father 
was born at Shrewsbury, England, of Welsh parentage, and 
was a cousin of the celebrated Sir Watkyn "William Wynn 
of Wynnstay, Wales — and emigrated to Shi-ewsbury, New 
Jersey, a place named by him probably after his native place. 
Arthur Breese was born at Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and his 
brother, the late Samuel Sidney Breese, of Scanandoah, was 
born in Philadelphia. The subject of this notice, studied 
law with the distinguished Judge Elias Boudinot, and re- 
moved to Whitesboro as early as 1794, where he became a 
partner of the late Judge Piatt, in the practice of his pro- 
fession. Upon the organization of Oneida County, he was 
appointed Surrogate, and held the office until May, 1808. A 
clerk's office of the supreme court having been established at 
Utica about this time, he was appointed the clerk, which of- 
fice he held until the time of his death, a period of about 
seventeen years. He died at New York, whither he had 
gone for the benefit of his health, Aug. 13, 1825, aged fifty- 
three years. He removed to Utica about the year 1805, and 
actively engaged in every measure for building up the place 
or for the intellectual and moral improvement of its citizens. 
He died in the prime of manhood, universally beloved and 
respected. 

Matthew Hubbell, father of Alrick Hubbell, settled upon 
what has been long known as the " Hubbell farm " in East 
Utica, in 1789. He emigrated from Berkshire County, 
Massachusetts, and brought a good share of New England 
energy and perseverance to bear upon the then almost un- 



524 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

broken forest, in the vicinity of the old fort. He died many 
years since. 

Charles C. Brodhead, one of the very few " early settlers" 
now remaining in Utica, became a resident of the place as 
early as 1797. For many years he was extensively engaged 
as a surveyor in this section of the state. On the 5th of 
April, 1800, he was appointed sheriff of Oneida County, and 
honorably performed the duties of the office till June 18, 
1804. Ml". Brodhead moves among the children and grand- 
children of his coteraporaries with much of the elasticity of 
youtli, and apparently bids fair to see a generation or two of 
titeir descendants before he is gathered to his fathers. 

Commodore Melancthon T. Woolsey died in Utica, May 
19, 1838, aged fifty -eight years. His paternal grand-father 
fell in the service of his country at the head of a battalion iu 
1758. His father, Melancthon L. AVoolsey, served with credit 
in the war of the Revolution, and expended a handsome pat- 
rimony in the cause of freedom and his country. The sub- 
ject of this sketch was a clerk in the clerk's office of Oneida 
county, when the late judge Piatt was county clerk. In 1800 
he entered the navy of the United States, in which he ac- 
tively served during the great portion of the remainder of 
his life upon the Atlantic, the Pacific, in the Mediterranean 
and upon the lakes. In 1808, he was ordered to the com- 
mand of the lake Ontario station. At the commencement 
of the war of 1812, his command was one of vast responsibil- 
ity, particularly in view of the great numerical superiority of 
the enemy's naval force upon the lakes, and the defenceless 
condition of the ports upon this side. His first object was to 
protect Saeketts Harbor from attack. In addition to the Big 
Oneida, he armed and equipped the schooner Julia, and sub- 
sequently captured the British armed schooner Nelson, which 
he added to the squadron. Shortly afterwards the British 



xxin.] rircA. 525 

sent a strong force against Sacketts Harbor, then without 
any works of defence, for the purpose of destroying the vil- 
lage and the American fleet. Commodore Woolsey placing 
his squadron in as secure a position as possible, went on 
shore and took command of a body of volunteers and militia, 
hastily constructed a battery, and in a short time compelled 
the enemy to retire precipitately, with considerable loss and 
damage. Commodore Woolsey was a brave and accomplish- 
ed naval officer, and always cherished that just pride as to his 
profession, which has so ennobled so many of its members, a 
profession which has furnished to the United States such a 
galaxy of heroes and patriots. A short time before his death 
he removed to Utica, where by the affability of his deport- 
ment, the kindness of his heart, and the correctness of his sen- 
timents and life, he acquired the good will and esteem of all 
who made his acquaintance. He was buried with military 
honors, and was attended to the grave by Captain Mervine 
of the navy. Gen. Comstock and his staff, and the Utica Cit- 
izens' Corps. 

Several years since an anecdote of Com. Woolsey was pub- 
lished in many of the newspapers of the country, but as the 
author has been unable to find a copy, he gives it from recol- 
lection, without names or dates. At some period during the 
war of 1812, a considerable British force commanded by a 
naval officer of rank, effected a landing from Lake Ontario, 
at some point within the county of Jefferson or Oswego. The 
Commodore and the British commander had formed an ac- 
quaintance, and become warm personal friends some years be- 
fore, while stationed in the Mediterranean. The landing was 
made under cover of the darkness of night, and Commodore 
Woolsey, aware of their approach, had collected and taken 
command of a small party of riflemen, which he had station- 
ed in a good position for properly receiving the enemy as 



52G ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHjir. 

soon as they were beyond the reach of their boats. The Brit- 
ish came, and found themselves suddenly confronted by the 
Americans. Com. Woolsey issued his orders as if to a large 
force ordering those in front to stand firm, and directing two 
large imaginary flanking parties to secure positions which 
cut off the enemy's retreat, those in front now opening a dead- 
ly fire. The Commodore to make victory sure and quick, in 
thunder tones now ordered his whole force to '• charge bayo- 
net." The British have too often turned the tide of battle 
by the bayonet not to feel a dread of the weapon when turned 
a'^ainst themselves by superior numbers, and those Amer- 
icans, now to save themselves from entire destruction, 
cried for quarter, threw down their arms and surrendered. 
The British commander was conducted to the Commodore, 
when a mutual recognition took place. " Commodore," said 
iie " I am happy to be permitted to renew our former ac- 
quaintance, although under unfavorable circumstances, but 
this is the first time I have ever known riflemen to " charge 
hayoyiet l" Whether the rtise of the Commodore was a 
stratagem conceived at the moment, or was the resultof hab- 
it, as marities do carry bayonets, is now a question difficult 
to be answered. The British force became prisoners of war. 
and then their boats, aboard which was a large quantity of 
arms and military stores, were easily taken. 

David W. Childs was a native of Pittsfield, Mass., a son of 
Dr. Childs, a celebrated physician of that place, and a broth- 
er of the late Lieut. Gov. Childs of that state. For several 
years he was a lawyer, and ranked among the more prominent 
citizens of Utica. He died at his native place, whither he 
had gone for the benefit of his health, July 27, 18-26, aged 
forty-five years. William Jones, a brother of Dr. Jones, late 
a President of Texas, was for several years actively engaged 
as a surveyor and engineer in and around Utica. Many vil- 



XXIII.] ' UTiCA. 5'27' 

lage surveys of lots, streets, &c., and the maps of property 
were made by him. He was a highly respected and useful 
citizen, and died Dec. 14, 1827, aged thirty -five years. 

Maj. Benjamin Hinman, the father of John E. Hinman, 
mayor ofUtica, was a native of Connecticut, and served with 
much credit during the Revolution, as an aid to General 
Greene. He also lost a handsome fortune through the vicis- 
situdes of the war, and his devotion to the cause of his coun- 
try. In 1793, he removed to Herkimer, and in 1798, re- 
moved to Utica. He was a man of sound judgment, most 
correct morals and habits, and was highly respected as a man, 
a patriot and a citizen. 

He died at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, while upon a jour- 
ney to New Jersey, April 7, 1821, aged sixty-six years. His 
aged widow still survives in the state of Illinois, and is in the 
enjoyment of a handsome bounty from government on ac- 
count of her husband's revolutionary services. 

It was mentioned in the obituary of Major Hinman, that 
he had never drxmk one glass of ardent spirits in his life. 

In sketching the foregoing notices of prominent men in' 
Utica, it struck the mind of the author most forcibly, as it no- 
doubt will that of the reader, how Ikrge a number in propor- 
tion to the whole were cut off by death hardly past the me- 
ridian of life, and' in the mid!<t of active usefulness. Utica 
has ever been a healthy location, and the cause of this early 
mortality is inexplicable. 

In the histories of the various churches- and notices of the 
institutions, societies, incorporations, etc., the author has ta- 
ken pains generally togive the names of their founders and: 
early officers, that " honor may be given where honor is due," 
and also that by a reference to them the names of the promi- 
nent and active citizens, at the various periods named, may be: 
ascertained. This has been the author's motive in giving, in, 



528 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [C'HAP. 

some instances, long lists of names, and these to the future 
historian of Utica, if any there ever shall be, will be of more 
value than many pages of incidents and events without such 
exact data. This is the author's apology, if one is needed, for 
these lists and the frequent repetition of the same names. 

To show the extent of population, and relative taxation in 
the village of Utica in the year 1800, the names of the taxable 
inhabitants and the tax paid by each are given from the village 
tax list of that year. John Post paid a tax of $ 2.00 ; Daniel 
Budlong and Ramsey & Co. $ 1,25 each ; Samuel Carrington, 
John Hobby, Richard Smith, Nathaniel Butler, § 1,1 2| each ; 
Benjamin Walker, John House, Moses Bagg, Bryan John- 
son, Proprietors of the Hotel, Francis A. Bloodgood, William 
Halsey, $ 1,00 each ; 0. & J. Ballou, John Smith, John Bis- 
sell, Talcott Camp, Clark & Fellows, Samuel Hooker, 87^ 

cents each ; James S. Kip, Joseph Ballou, Nichols 

(Bagg's house), Nathan Williams, Gurdon Burchard, William 
Williams, William McLean 75 cts. each ; administrator of 
Daniel Banks, John Bellinger, 62| cents each ; Silas Clark, 

Peter Smith, Worden Hammond, Remsen, Barnabas 

Brooks, John C. Hoyt, Peter Caveiuler, James P. Dorches- 
ter, Watts Shearman, Erastus Clark. 50 cts. each; S. P. Dy- 

gert, Samuel Forman, — Clark, John Curtiss, Benjamin 

Ballou, Jr., Charles Easton, 37-^ cts. each ; J. D. Petrie, 
Matthew Hubbell, J. Becking, Benjamin Ballou, Widow 
Murphy, Jeremiah Cowden, J. Bissell, Samuel Rugg, Jeptha 
Buell, Stephen Potter, Samuel Garritt, Jonathan Foot, Jo- 
seph Pierce, G. Boon's house, Apollos Cooper, John Watley. 
Gideon Burchard, 25 cts. each ; William Pj-itchard, James 

Bagg, Barnabas Cooper, John Cooper, Simeon Jones, 

Van Sykes, 12A cts. each. Total $ 40,00. The village ex- 
tended at that time no farther west than the west line of lot 
ninety-seven. 



xxrii.] UTiCA. 529 

As questions relative to the titles of tbe land upon which 
tJtica is built, are of considerable interest to her present and 
■future owners of real estate, the writer has compiled the main 
facts and circumstances upon which those titles rest. For 
many years past the original settlers of a large portion of the 
city, or their heirs and grantees, have been compelled to de- 
fend suits brought against them by Mrs. Martha Bradstreet, 
and, although she has sometimes obtained verdicts^ yet those 
verdicts have never enabled her to obtain possession of city 
property after having been reviewed by the higher tribunals. 

The territory upon which Utica stands was granted by the 
crown of Great Britain to Joseph Worrell and others, by 
Letters Patent, dated January 2, 1734, certain cfiit-rents be- 
ing reserved to government as before stated. 

It was the practice of the Colonial Governors and other 
officers of the Crown in the Colonies, to procure patents of 
large tracts of wild land, to be granted to a certain number 
of persons, and then to take assignments of the patents to 
themselves, thus obtaining those immense estates which have 
made so much trouble to their posterity. The Home govern- 
I'nent, at different times, instructed the Colonial government 
not to grant more than 1000 acres, (at certain periods chang- 
ed to 2000 acres) of wild land to any individual. To evade 
these instructions, those high functionaries procured a cer- 
tain number, generally of obscure persons, (the number was 
iii proportion to the size of the tract they wished to secure), 
to apply for a patent of the tract, with an agreement tharf-. 
when obtained, it was for certain nominal considerations and 
favors, to be transferred to the officer, he giving all necessa- 
ry instructions how to proceed, and furnishing the money to 
pay the usually large fees and expenses to other crown offi- 
cers. These large fees and a desire, may be, to do the same 
thing, operated to keep the other officers quiet and prevent 



530 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF. 

their informing their masters across the Atlantic of thes© 
rascalities. 

After all the necessary petitions, surveys and other re 
quired formalities, the patent was graciously granted to the 
petitioners. This done, they were collected, may be for a 
feast and general merry-making, and the patent and the 
thousands of acres it covered, were conveyed to him for whont 
they were originally intended. In this way Governors, Lieut. 
Governors, Surveyors General, Secretaries, and Councils 
would gravely perform their various parts in the granting of 
patents, in the name of their sovereign, to companies of hum- 
ble subjects, when in fact they were for the benefit of them- 
selves. Sometimes private persons of great wealth and in- 
fluence, were allowed to act the same farce, and it was in this 
way that nearly all the large tracts granted previously to 
the Revolution, were obtained, and in some instances they 
exceed 100,000 acres in extent. It was in this way that 
" our well-beloved William Cosby, Captain General, and 
Governor in Chief of New York and New Jersey," etc., etc., 
gravely granted 22,000 acres to Joseph Worrell and others, 
when the grant was in trust for himself and for his own ben- 
efit. This ti'act immediately took the name of Cosby's 
manor, and the title remained in Gov. Cosby and his grantees 
and heirs, until sold for quit-rents as hereafter stated. The 
" William Cosby, Sheriff of Amboy " named in the patent, 
was another person, a relative of Gov. Cosby. It was in this 
way that Sir William Johnson obtained those large tracts, 
owned by him, and now lying in Fulton, Montgomery, Her- 
kimer and Oneida Counties. 

Gov. Cosby took the office of Governor on the 1st of Aug., 
1732, and died in New York, March 10, 1736. His widow, 
the daughter of Lord Halifax, remained in this country sev- 
eral years, and afterwards returned to England, where ahe 



xxni.j UTiCA. 531 

was living as late as 1 766. Grov. Cosby left two sons and 
two daughters. Sir William Johnson was agent for Mrs. 
Cosby, and for several years was the medium of a negotiation 
between her and Oliver Delancey and others, for the sale of 
her estates in the valley of the Mohawk. 

The quit-rents reserved in the patent were never paid, and 
accumulated to a large sum before the land was ordered sold 
for their payment. 

On the 7th of May, 1772, Daniel Horsmanden, Esq., chief 
justice of the colony of New York, issued a warrant to Philip 
Ten Eyck, Esq.. sheriff of Albany County, directing the sale 
of Cosby's manor, for arrears of quit-rents, and accordingly, 
on the fourth of July following, the manor was sold at public 
sale to Col. (afterwards Gen.) Philip Schuyler, for £ 1387, 4s. 
7d.. and on the 20tli of July a deed of conveyance was exe- 
cuted by the sheriff to Col. Schuyler. Col. Schuyler, how- 
ever, purchased the same for the joint benefit of himself, Gen. 
John Bradstreet, Rutger Bleecker, and John M. Scott, each 
paying one-fourth of the purchase money, but, the last three 
for various reasons, not wishing to be known in the transac- 
tion, the deed was drawn to Col. Schuyler. The reason Gen, 
Bradstreet assigned for wishing not to be known as the pur- 
chaser, was, that he feared it might give offence to the Duke 
of Grafton, who, or some of whose family had, or were sup- 
posed to have, an interest in Cosby's manor. Lord Augustus 
Fitzroy, third son of the Duke of Grafton, while upon a visit 
to America, became acquainted with the family of Gov. Cos- 
by, and'through the intrigues of Mrs. Cosby, (according to 
the colonial historian. Smith,) he was united to the oldest 
daughter by a private marriage, at Fort George, in New 
York. To save the Governor from the wrath of the Duke, 
then a favorite of George II., and to blind the relatives, a 
mock prosecution was instituted against Parson Campbell, 



532 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF, 

who had scaled the walls of the fort and solemuized the nup- 
tials, without the license or publication of banns, against the 
usage, although not against the laivs of the colony of New 
York. Col. Schuyler in his answer, filed March 3, 1789, to 
a bill in chancery, filed in 1788, by Mr. and Mrs. Evans (du 
Bellamy), to compel him, as executor of Gen. B.'s will, to dis- 
cover and convey under the will, thus speaks of the purchase : 
'• Said lands having been advertised for sale for the payment 
of quit-rents, I (Col. Schuyler) proposed to Gren. Bradstreet 
to become a partner with me and others in the purchase, to 
which Gen. B. agreed, and that I for myself and in behalf of 
Gen. B., together with Messrs. Bleecker and Scott having 
purchased Cosby's manor, (excepting 100 acres.) Gen. B. paid 
through my hands as his agent for his shai*e, and I admit that 
I hold or claim in trust for the representatives of Gen. B. or 
for the purpose of his will, the proportion of said purchase 
specified." 

Gen. Bradstreet died Sept. 26, 1774, and by his will dated 
the 23d of the same month, after devising an improved farm 
(no part of the land in question.) to a son of Col. Schuyler, 
devises " all the rest of his real estate to his two daughters, 
equally to be divided between them as tenants in common in 
fee" — charging the same with £100 per annum, to be paid 
to their mother, and then the will proceeds : " notwithstan- 
ding the former devise for the benefit of my wife and daugh- 
ters, I empower my executors to do all acts, and execute all 
instruments which they may conceive to be requisite to the 
partition of my landed estate, and I devise the same to them, 
as joint tenants, to be by them sold at such time and in such 
manner as they shall think most for theinterest of my daugh- 
ters, to whom the nett produce shall be paid in equal shares." 
He appointed Col. Schuyler and William Smith, of New York, 
his executors. The two daughters of Gen. Bradstreet were 



xxnt.J UTICA. 533 

Martha Bradstreet and Agatha, the mie of Charles du Bel- 
lamy, whose true name and that by which he was afterwards 
known was Charles John Evans. 

The wife of Gen. John Bradstreet had had by a former 
marriage with Colonel John Bradstreet, a son and daughter, 
the son, Major Samuel Bradstreet, of the fortieth regiment 
of foot, and the daughter, Elizabeth, the wife of Hon. Peter 
Livius, chief justice of the Province of Quebec. Major Sam- 
uel Bradstreet, son of Col. and step-son of Gen. John Brad- 
street died previous to 1781, leaving two children, one Mar- 
tha Bradstreet, born on the island of Antigua, W. I., August 
10. 1780, and married to Matthew Codd, in Ireland, April 
16, 1799. and who with her husband came to America, in the 
fall of the latter year, and the other was Lieut. Samuel Brad- 
:strPot of the twenty-fifth regiment of foot, who also came to 
America. The widow of Gen. B. died March 31, 1782. 

Martha Bradstreet, daughter of Gen. Bradstreet, died un- 
married, March 22, 1782, and by her will, dated May 15, 
1781, devised in fee (after her mother's death.) one-third of 
her estate, real and personal, to her (step) sister, Elizabeth 
Livius, " to be at her own disposal, and independent of her 
husband, by will or otherwise;" one-third to Samuel and 
Martha, children of her late (step) brother, Major Samuel 
Bradstreet, equally to be divided, and to the survivor, in case 
either should die under 21, but the income to be expended 
during their infancy, in their maintenance and education ; 
and the remaining third to her sister Agatha du Bellam}^ 
(Evans) for life, and in case she survived her husband then 
in fee — she appointed Sir Charles Gould sole executor, and 
authorized him to sell and dispose of such real estate as she 
was entitled to in North America and elsewhere, and to ex- 
ecute conveyances for the same. It seems that Dec. 19, 1 786, 
a voluntary partition of Cosby's manor was made by and be- 



534 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF 

+ween Gen. Schuyler, representing three-quarters (his own. 
and those of Gen. B. and Mr. Scott,) and Rutger Bleecker 
the owner of the other quarter, that a map was made and the 
several lots marked thereon with the names of Schuyler. 
Bleecker, Bradstreet and Scott. 

In 1790, Charles John Evans (du Bellamy), and Agatha. 
his wife, one of the daughters and devisees of Gen. Bradstreet 
and Sir Charles Gould, executor of the will of Martha Brad- 
street (the other daughter) hy Daniel lAodloiv and Edward. 
GovM^ his attorneys^ conveyed by deed with warranty to 
Stephen Potter (father of the late Wni. F. Potter), four hun- 
dred acres, Lot 97, Cosby's manor. (In 181G, William F. 
Potter, devisee of Stephen Potter, conveyed to Henry Hun- 
tington about 70 acres, known as the " Huntington property.") 
The Evans and Gould also conveyed 150 acres, part of lot 
89 to Peter Bellinger, Nov. IG, 1791 ; also HI acres in lot 
95 to John Bellinger and Benj. Hammond, June 17, 1797; 
also 200 acres in lot 95 to Augustus and Thomas Corey, 
July 25, 1791 ; also eighty-nine and a half acres in lot 95 to 
John Post, July 13, 1792. 

July 19, 1794, Mrs. Agatha Evans (bcfoi-e named) in her 
own right and Sir Charles Gould, executor (as afox'esaid), by 
Edivard Goiild^ his attorney^ conveyed by deed with cove- 
nants of warranty and for quiet enjoyment to James S. Kip, 
lot No. 96, Cosby's manor. (April 11, 1795, J. S. Kip con- 
veyed 117 acres to Apollos Cooper, known as the Cooper 
farm.) There may have been also other conveyances from 
Evans and Gould, which have not been found by the author, 
but those above mentioned cover lots 95,96 and 97. 

In the suits brought by Mrs. Bradstreet against the occu- 
pants of lands in Cosby's manor, it has been insisted that the 
conveyances by Daniel Ludlow and Edward Gould, and by 
Edward Gould, as attorneys for Sir Charles Gould, executor 



KXIII.] UTICA. 535 

of Martha Bradstreet, were not valid conveyances, because no 
authority or power of attorney for that purpose from iiir C. 
Oould had been produced or shown to have ever existed, and 
because Sir C. Grould could not have legally delegated to 
another the power he possessed, under the will of Martha 
Bradstreet, to sell her real estate. Previously to the convey- 
ances by Evans and Gould, in and subsequently to 1790, the 
•' Bradstreet lots" were a wilderness, unoccupied, except by 
a few squatters who had made small " clearings." 

Gen. Schuyler, as executor and trustee of Gen. Bradstreet 
i( William Smith having taken sides with England and. gone 
to Canada, at the commencement of the Revolution, where 
he died), seems to have been conscious of the responsibilities, 
moral and legal, and the difficulties connected with his posi- 
tion in relation to the Bradstreet property, and from 1784 to 
94, he sought the advice of the most eminent lawyers, among 
whom were Samuel Jones, Richard Harrison and Alexander 
Hamilton, as to the manner in which he could " put the sev- 
eral heirs (of Gen. B.) in possession of the estate, with safety 
to himself and in conformity to the will " of Gen. B. 

On the 16th of May, 1794, Gen. Schuyler, as executor of 
Gen. B., executed to Agatha Evans, daughter of Gen. B. (C. J. 
Evans having died Aug. 9, 1793), and Edward Gould, attor- 
ney for Sir C. Gould, executor of Martha B., the other 
daughter, a deed, which recites the wills of Gen. B., and 
Martha B., that Gen. Schuyler "was seized in fee as tenant 
in common in trust for Gen. B. of one-fourth part" of Cos- 
by's manor ; the death of Wm. Smith, his co-executor ; the de- 
vises of Martha B. to Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Livius and to Mar- 
tha and Samuel B. (before described) ; the partition before 
named ; and then states that to invest Mrs. Evans with her 
proportion under the wills of Gen. B. and Martha B. and to in- 
vest Edirard Gould with the remainder in trust, for the per- 



.536 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

SOUS entitled thereto under the will of Martha B.. and iu 
consideration of ten shillings, he (Gen. Schuyler), " doth 
grant, bargain, sell, alien, release and confirm " two-thirds 
(undivided) to 31rs. Evans, and the remaining one-third to 
Edward Gould, in trust, to sell and convey the same, and di- 
vide the proceeds (after deducting expenses) between Samuel 
and Martha B., and Mrs. Livius. 

Mrs. Livius died May 4, 1795, without descendants, and 
left a paper purporting to be a will, dated May 25, 1794 
(her husband being then alive), by which she constituted 
Martha Bradstreet (her niece), sole heir to her real and per- 
sonal estate, to be paid and delivered to her at the age of 
twenty-one, or upon the day of her marriage, provided she 
married with the consent of Mrs. Livius' executor. Sir Charles 
Morgan (who by the way is the same person as Sir Charles 
Gould, so frequently mentioned before), but in case of said 
Martha's death under twenty-one, or marriage without such 
consent, then her brother, Lieut. Samuel Bradstreet, was to bi- 
sole heir to Mrs. Livius' property. 

]\Jartha Bradstreet married Mr. Codd without the consent 
of Sir C. Morgan, but subsequently on the 4th of June, 1800. 
he gave her a certificate expressing his willingness to eonseat 
to and ratify her marriage as far as he had power then to do 
so. On the 17th of June, 1817, Mrs. B. obtained a decree of 
divorce from Matthew Codd, and subsequently obtained an 
act of the Legislature of New York authorizing her to re- 
sume her maiden name, Martha Bradstreet. July 26, 1802, 
Lieut. Samuel B. released to his sister Martha Codd, what- 
ever interest he might be entitled to claim under the will of 
Mrs. Livius, by reason of her man-iage without the consent 
first obtained of Sir C. Morgan. 

In 1800, Edward Gould (the before-named attorney of 
Sir C. Gould, as executor of Martha B. (the elder) aJias Sir 



xxui.] UTiOA. 537 

C. Morgan, executor of Mrs. Livius) became bankrupt, and 
under an order of the court of chancery of New York, on the 
2-id of October, 1804, he executed a deed to " Martha Codd, 
late Martha Bradstreet, wife of Matthew Codd of Utica, New 
York." reciting the deed to him from Schuyler of May IG, 
1794, that since that date Mrs. Codd had become entitled to 
the share of Mrs. Livius, thereby conveyed to him in trust, 
not alreadj' sold and converted into money, and conveying 
to her {Mrs. Codd) all the real estate held by him (E. Gould) 
at the time of his becoming bankrupt, with covenant of war- 
ranty, but providing that he (Gould) should not be held per- 
sonally responsible for any of said real estate which he may 
have sold prior to his bankruptcy. The terms of this deed 
were prescribed by the order or decree of chancery. 

Mrs. Martha Bradstreet, formerly wife of M. Codd, sister 
of Lieut. Samuel B., daughter of Major Samuel B., grand- 
daughter of Col. John B., step-grand-d-aughter of Gen. John 
B.. niece of Mrs. Livius, step-niece of Martha B. and Mrs. 
Evans (du Bellamy), is the person who has for many years 
pressed her claims to a share of Cosby's manor in Utica, and 
the foregoing are the facts upon which those claims are based, 
as well as those upon which the occupants defend their titles 
and possession. 

The share or quarter of Cosby's manor belonging originally 
to llutger Bleecker, is the property known as that of the late 
John B. Bleecker (father-in-law of Hon. Horatio Seymour), 
and his sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth BrinkerhofF, Mrs. Blaudina 
Dudley, and Mrs. jMaria Miller. The quai'ter of the manor 
originally owned by Gen. Schuyler was divided into lots, and a 
])art of them leased or sold by the Gen. in his life time, and 
the remainder has since been sold by his heirs. Mrs. Ham- 
ilton, widow of Alexander Hamilton, now enjoying a ripe age 
of a little short of an hundred years, and Mrs. Cochi^an of 



538 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

Oswego, are daughters of Gen. Schuyler, and but a few years 
since sold the last of their lands in West Utica. The real 
estate in "West Utica, known as the Varick and Mann prop- 
erty, the Breese estate, that of A. B. Johnson, &c., belonged 
to Gen. Schuyler. The quarter of the manor which belonged 
to John Morrin Scott, was all conveyed by him and his rep- 
resentatives many years since. 

The growth of Utica has ever been slow, sure and steady. 
Iler business men have ever owned a large share of the lots 
and buildings, have proceeded in their various vocations and 
enterprises with caution and discretion, have ever done busi- 
ness almost exclusively upon their own capital, and conse- 
quently have not experienced the reactions and revulsions 
under which most other places of its size have suffered. The 
beginnings here were truly small, and the prospects were lim- 
ited. In 179.3 or 94, when the late Jason Parker arrived 
here on one occasion with the great western mail from Alba- 
ny, it was discovered that it contained six letters for the in- 
habitants of Old Fort Schuyler. This remarkable fact was 
heralded from one end of the settlement to the other, and 
sOHie were incredulous, until assured of its reality by that most 
veracious Dutchman, John Post, the post-master. At that 
time the arrival of six letters in one mail was an event of real 
i;iiportance. About this time Mr. Parker had in his employ 
a young colored man (for this was a slave-holding community 
then) and a darker dog, a large noble fellow, and by these tlie 
.mail was dispatched to Foi't Stauwix, over a road whicliliad 
been improved but little since the E evolution. Tray with the 
mail lashed upon his back and Jack whistling by his .side, 
performed the trip within the contract time, to wit : up one 
day and back the next. 

In the IVcstcru Sentinel, Sept. 23, 1795 (the earliest No. 
known to be extant), are found the following advertisements : 



XXIII.] TJTICA. 539 

" Parker^s Mail Stage from Whitcstoivn to Canajoharre^'^ 
(Here follows a wood cut of a coach and four — tlie coacli of a 
pattern long since lost from the earth, the coachman with 
cocked hat, and the only modern representation of the 
horses is in the Dutch toys, of the real peg-leg order). '• The 
mail leaves Whitestown every Monday and Thursday, at 2 
o'clock, P. M., and proceeds to old Fort Schuyler the same 
evening ; next morning starts at 4 o'clock, and arrives at 
(Jauajoharie in the evening; exchanges passengers with the 
Albany and Cooperstown stages, and the next day returns 
to old Fort Schuyler. Fare for passengers $ 2,00. way pas- 
sengers four cents per mile, fourteen pounds of baggage gratis 
— 150 weight rated the same as a passenger. Seats may be 
had by applying at the post-office, ^\'hitestown, at the house 
of the subscriber old Fort Schuyler, or at Capt. Roofs, Cana- 
joharie. 

August, 1795. JASON PARKER." 

" Letters remaining in the post-office, old Fort Schuyler : 
(ierrit Grosbeck, Herkimer town ; Ebenezer Wright, Fort 
Schuyler ; Abram Vrooman, do. ; Jedediah Jackson or Asa- 
liel Jack.son, Clinton ; Stephen Burton, 2, Whitestown : Oli- 
ver Trumbull, Fort Schuyler. 

Sept. 14, 1795. JOHN POST, P. M." 

John Post, collector of the revenue of the county of Her- 
kimer, gives notice to retailers of wines and foreign distilled 
spirits, that he is ready to grant licenses, also to the " owners 
of stills, or carriages that are kept for pleasure or the con- 
veyance of persons." to enter them and pay the duties, also 
to auctioneers, to take licenses and give bonds, all as renuired 
by acts of Congi-ess. 

James S. Kip & Co.. of old Fort Schuyler, advertise 



540 AXNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

for sale a number of tickets in " the New York City Alms 
House Lottery," also " a quantity of the best Spanish 
segars " and " cash and the highest price paid for salts 
of lye." 

Peter Smith of old Fort Schuyler advertises " New Pe- 
tersburgh Lands. As those lands, it is expected, will imme- 
diately be sold to the state — it is therefore required that all per- 
sons who have engaged any of them, whether they have leases 
or not (if they have fulfilled their agreements), that they call 
on the subscriber as quick as may be, in order to make ar- 
rangements for purchasing the remainder and reversion of 
tliem — agreeable to a law of this state, passed 1 1th of April. 
1795. N. B. A few lots to be disposed of to immediate set- 
tlers, if applied for soon. Sept. 6, 1795." (Vide History of 
Augusta). These are all the advertisements from old Fort 
Schuyler, while those of AVhitesboro make a very respectable 
appearance, facts which show the difference between the two 
places at that time. The only article under the editorial 
head in this No., is the following: "At the present time 
throughout the whole of this western country, sickness and 
death prevail beyond what has ever before been experienced 
since its first settlement. Scarce a family escapes, and num- 
bers of whole families labor under the affliction of a dreadful 
disease. The diseases most prevalent are, the lake (or Gen- 
esee) fever, the intermittent fever, and the ague and fever. 
The lake fever handles it votaries very roughly, and many 
are forced to yield to its unrelenting sway. We have how- 
ever authority to say that the lake fever is not confined whol- 
ly to the lake towns — but is frequent in the most inland 
towns." 

In the " Whitcstoivn Gazette and Catds Patrol^' of Aug. 
27, 1798, published at Utiea, "near the post-office," the fol- 
lowing advertisements are found, showing very considerable 



xxm.] UTicA. 54 ■ 

progress, resulting from a change of nam'' i ('urease 

population and business. 

" New York State Road Lottery ' 1.- '.ickets 
John Post." 

" Published and for sale ;' litis mTi-p- .rativ ..tie 
life of Zilpha Smith, ^^ -.v dyl\' ■'< A^gusia, sen- 

tenced to be hung a^ - .rV' . '' ^r the mur- 

der of Major W >' aJ- ,. . J<i- ^, but who hung 

herself on tV- ..,?' iStkof."' .d."— (Vide Capital 

Convict- ..aTi 

M ..; ii;;.., o. ... .s:J:- .lOU.B and lot suitable for a 

*.':ra stand." MiV Allen n -.vertises that he has opened a 

sawing scho-'ol in New ' ' .irtford, where " parents desirous to 

• (^ their -hikiren r.-aght that useful and polite accomplish- 

iepeiM on the strictest attention," and that'' those 

adn '■ J out of town and are desirous to be taught, 

If, ii; , , r" : H^'vtford and receive two lessons 

I-: \reek, and in five or i'^a ".vec-; " I'^arn the 

'V-^ of 
Carrington 
t.-v t1" painting a.^u ^ 
■ d Alger advenlov... * .j. 

; s for sale "lime juice, ilfascovado and i:]ctoi; India 
;: •■ )lasses, soap, tobacco, Spanish and American segars, 
., - .) , .e and rapee snuff, hair powder and pomatum, curl- 
ing irons, combs, etc., etc." '• The stamp act for sale at this 
iiiqe.' 
fn ^'e year 1800, there were but three roads or streets in 
-ic '\z : the " Grenesee road." the AVhitestown road," and 
•' Ii Street." Genesee Street, from a point near where is 
V' e entrance to Catharine Street, to the top of the hill. 
1 deed most of the way to New Hartford, was a newly 



542 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP 

made cause-xvay of bare logs, ■with a swamp and foreat on both 
sides. Language is too feeble to describe all the various 
sensations resulting from a ride over such a road, and to bo 
known thuy are to be felt. At that period, the woods where 
now runs Liberty Street, and around the site of Mechanics' 
Hall, were a famous hunting ground for squirrels, pigeons, 
owls, etc. Otis Whipple, Esq., recollects shooting an owl 
upon the site of Mechanics' Hall, about the year 1800. Be- 
tween 1800 and 1810, thousands of pigeons were shot in that 
vicinity. Soon after t;. year 1800, Hotel Street was laid 
out by the owners of tL^gij. .ellot. as the laud which it crosses 
was called. Since 1810, it was not uncomman for cows to get 
mired in the vicinity of Chancellor Square and Elizabeth 
Street, and to die before they were found. Faye.tte Street 
came into use in the summer of 1825, and Judge Cooper, the 
owner of a portion of the land it occupies, opposed its being 
laid out and graded, as he believed the only result whicli w-ould 
follow, would be the ruin of his pasture. 

In 1802, a company was incorporated for the purpose of 
supplying Utica with wholesome wat'^r, but the author is tiot 
aware that anv thing -^vas then done towards the accomplifc;h- 
ment of that object. On the 13th of April, 1826. Williaiai 
Alverson, Newell Smith, aad David P. Hoyt and their assi> 
ciates, under the name of " the Utica Aqueduct Co.," were in- 
corporated for the same purpose — it thus appearing that the- 
necessity of some measures for procuring pure water was felt 
at that early day. 

For some years, near the commencement of th« present 
century, Main Street, from Bagg's to Kip's landing, was a 
celebrated race course, where many a " scrub race " between 
the earlier settlers among the nags, to try their bottom and 
speed, pame off. Kip's darkey was the groom and manager 
upon all such oceasiona. While upon the subject of races, 



xxiii.) vticx. 54S 

the following advertisement in the before named " Western 
Ccnlind" (as the name was spelled,) of 1795, seems apropos 
and is given as illustrative of the times. 

^'- Advertisement,— On account of the supreme court of the 
state of New York being held in the county of Ontario and 
Onondaga in the beginning of September nest, the fair and 
races at Bath, Ontario County, are postponed until the 21st 
of September, and the races at Williamsburgh, Genesee Riv- 
er, until the 1st of October next. 

Bath, Aug. 1 1, 1795. CHARLES WILLIAMSON." 

This Mr. Williamson is supposed to have been the same 
who was in this country as a captain in the British army in 
the Revolution, and who afterwards resided many years in 
this state, as an agent for the Pultney estate. 

In 1803, George Richards, Jr., opened in tJtica, the 
" Oneida Bookstore," and from his advertisement it would 
seem that he had a respectable assortment of school and mis- 
cellaneous books. Mr. Richards was, subsequently, for several 
years, clerk of the corporation. In this year Thomas Willson 
advertised a large stock of dry-goods, groceries, hard-ware, 
crockery, drugs, medicines, etc. In January, 1804, Moses 
Johnson advertises a heavy stock of " European goods, suita- 
ble for the season," also, groceries, iron, steel, " soal leather,'' 
etc., and that he " has removed from his former stand near 
the bridge, to the new store in Genesee Street, next door 
north of the post-office." This year " Walton, Thatcher and 
Turner, at Utica, Schenectady and Albany," engage to trans- 
port all kinds of produce to New York, and merchandize to 
the western country. 

In 1812 and 13, the following persons, in Utica, adver- 
tised their business in the Columbian Gazette ; 



544 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

General Dry Goods and Variety Stores. —Talcott Camp, A. Van^ant- 
voord, S. Wolcott& Co., Stalliani Williams, John C. Devercux, Kane 
& A'an Rensselaer, John E. Evertsen, James Van Rensselaer, Jr., A. 
Hitchcock, AVatts Shearman, Henry B. Gibson, Alexander Seymour, 
Dwight & Shearman. 

Trunk and Harness Maker. — James Dana. 

Edge Tools. — Oliver Babcock. 

Cabinet Makers. — Smead & Cable. 

Drugs and Medicines. — D. Hasbrouck, M. Hitchcock. Guitvaii i". 
Watson. 

Paints, Oils, &c. — Macomber & Newell, Charles Easton. 

Tobacco, Segars, &c. — Robert Todd, Jr., Jolin A. Bury &(,'o., W. 
Fleming. 

3Iorocco ^Manufactory. — Amos Canip &. J. Downing. Henry Clark. 

Utica Museum. — Erastus Row. 

Copper Factory. — Daniel Stafford & Co. 

Fur Store. — J. C. Ncunhoetier. 

Painting and Glazing. — JohuC. Bull, Z. B. Clark. 

Gunsmithing. — Castle Southerland. 

Hatters and Hatters' Stock and Trimmings.— Samuel Stockiiiij:. 
Cozier & Whiting. 

Merchant " Tayler." — B. Paine. 

Tailor.— John C. Hoyt. 

Hides, Leather, &c. — David P. Hoyt, Per^ey Ilarris. 

Brewery. — Thomas Harden. 

Distillery.— Thomas Devereux. 

Stone.— Thomas James. 

Cotton Goods, Glass and Scythes.— E. B. Shearman. 

Candles afld Soap.— John Roberts. 

Lamp Oil, &c.— NicoU & Dering. 

Boot and Shoe Makers.— John Queal, Levi Comstock and Ezra S. 
Barnum. 

Auctioneer. — E. Spurr, 

Groceries. — James Hooker. 

Stone Cutting. — Cross & Danfortli. 

Military Goods.— Barton & Porter. 

Lottery Tickets— A sahel Sev.ard, Thomas Walker. S. Wolcott, 
& Co, 



XXIII.] ^ UTICA. 515 

On the 4tli of July, 1817, the Eric canal was commenced 
and the first ground broken at Rome. About the 15th ot 
October, 1819, the middle section of the canal, extending from 
Utica to the Seneca river, was completed, and on the 23d and 
24th of the same month the Canal Commissioner,^ made the 
trip from Utica to Rome. A new era commenced now in the 
history of Utica : new prospects, a new spirit of progress and 
new resources, were now developed and sprang full of life 
from the head of this great enterprise of our state. Instead 
of " lying low " and longer hugging the muddy banks of the 
Mohawk, or standing forever i".pon the corners of (J-enesee, 
Whitesboro and Main Streets, Utica obeyed the injunction 
to come up higher, to " lengthen her cords " and enlarge her 
heritage. 

In 1820, a line of packets was established between Utica 
and Montezuma, and lai'ge amounts of merchandize, produce, 
etc., were transported between these places upon the canal. 
In 1819 and 20, forty-three miles of the western section, 
mostly on the east side of Genesee river, and in 1520, twenty- 
sis miles of the eastern section, were put under contract. In 
November 1S21. boats descended as far as Rockton. then Lit- 
tle Falls, and towards the close of 1822, 220 milc.5 were nav- 
igable, and Oct. 8, 1823, 280 miles were completed. About 
the middle of October, 1825. the entire work was completed, 
and in the same month the first boat passed from Lake Erie 
to the Hudson, on board of which were Gov. DeWitt Clinton 
and several other distinguished gentlemen, followed by anoth- 
er boat, aboard of which were Lieut. Gov. Talmadge, Hon. 
Henry Seymour one of the canal commissioners, and others. 
The completion of the canal and the union of the waters of 
the great North American chain of lakes with the Atlantic, 
was celebrated on the 4th of November with many demon- 
strations of joy and gratification. 

35 



540 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. JCHAP. 

The act of April 15, 1817. authorizing the comnienccniout 
of the Erie and Cliamplain cauals, was met in its passage 
through the two houses with argument, derision and con- 
tempt; and in the Council of revision, acting Gov. Taylor 
was known to be its opponent, while the opposition of CLan- 
(•ellor Kent and Chief Justice Thompson was much feared 
hy its friends. Judges Yates and Piatt, the latter for many 
years a resident of this county, were known to be zealous 
friends of the bill, and. after mature deliberation. 3Iessrs. Kent 
'jnd Thompson gave it their assent. On the 22d of Februa- 
ry, 1819, Hon. Ezekiel 13acon, member of Assembly from 
this county, and a member of the joint committee of the two 
houses upon that portion of Gen. Clinton's speech (message) 
relating to internal improvements, reported in favor of the 
immediate completion of the western section of the canal, and 
during the same session, Mr. Bacon reported in favor of im- 
proving the Oswego river. Judge Bacon is a native ot 
Stoekbridge, Mass., but resided many years at Pittsfield. He 
graduated at Yale College in 1794, was admitted to the bar 
of his native state in 1798, was a member of Congress from 
1807 to 1813. and was the Comptroller of the Treasury of 
the United States, fur some time under President Madison. 
He removed from l*ittsfield to Utica, soon after he left his 
bureau in the Treasury department, and was elected to the 
Assembly in 1818, and vras appointed a judge of the county 
ou the 24th of April in the same year, and held the office 
until the spring of 1821. In 1821, he was a member of the 
Constitutional Convention from this count}-. Judge Bacon 
now resides in Utica. 

Among the friends of the Eric Canal was the late Henry 
Seymour, then an acting canal commissioner. To not only the 
scrupulous performance of every duty in the line of his office, 
but to hifi enlightened and enlarged views, to his practical 



xxni.] UTiCA. 547 

talents, and his warm friendship for the measure, was the 
state greatly indebted in the favorable action of the Legisla- 
ture, the rapid and economical prosecution, and the quality 
and durability of this great work. Mr. Seymour was chosen 
canal commissioner, by the Legislature, in 1819, in j^lace of 
the late Ephraim Hart, who had been appointed ad intctim 
by the Crovernor, upon the resignation of Joseph Elliott. 
Mr. Seymour was elected Stat<3 Senator in 1821. He died 
in Utica, August 26, 1837, aged fifty-sis years. 

Ephi'aim Hart, was a son of Judge Thomas Hart, who em- 
igrated from Farmington, Conn., soon after Paris was settled, 
and became a merchant in Clinton, in its earlier days. Sub- 
sequently, Ephraim Hart and a brother were engaged in the 
same business, in that village, for several years. He after- 
wards removed to Utica, where he established a foundry, and 
prosecuted an extensive business. In 1816, he was elected a 
State Senator, and was re-elected in 1820. He died at St. 
Augustine, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health. 
February 14, 1839, aged sixty- three years. 

In the summer of 1802, the Rev. John Taylor, a missiona- 
ry of the Missionary Society of Hampshire Co., Mass., made 
a tour through the " Mohawk and Black River Country," for' 
the purpqse of visiting and encouraging the feeble churches, 
and establishing others where there were none. He spent 
several days in T^tica, and made a map of the village, which 
he attached to his journal. From that map it appears that 
Genesee Street was built upon for seventy rods from the riv- 
er, and Whitesboro Street sixty, and Main Street about sev- 
enty rods from Genesee Street, that there were forty-three 
Imildings upon the latter, twenty-two upon Whitesboro, and 
twenty upon Main Street, and the only places where buildings 
were connected were upon the corners of the streets. A 
little reflection will show that the buildings were considerably 



548 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

scattered, when we consider too that most of them were tlir 
smallest kind of story and a half framed or log houses. 

In his journal Mr. Taylor thus speaks of the people of 
Utica : '' Utica appears to be a mixed mass of discordant 
materials. Here may be found people of ten or twelve dif- 
ferent nations, and of almost all religions and sects ; but the 
greatest part are of no religion. The world is the great ob- 
ject with the body of the people." Again, he says: "There 
is but a handful of people in this place who have much re- 
gard for preaching, or for any thing but the world." — Vidt 
3d Vol. Doc. Hist. N. Y. If Mr. Taylor intended to bo un- 
derstood that the people of Utica were peculiarly irreligious, 
he was doubtless mistaken. Nearly every page of his journal 
bears evidence that he was a man of very narrow and bigoted 
mind, and saw things, and persons, and the small feeble 
churches of that day, especially those not of the " standing 
order," with a vision miserably bleared and prejudiced. 
From the best authority, the author is satisfied that the eaiiy 
inhabitants of Utica appreciated religion and religious privi- 
leges, as generally as they do now, and probably more so, that 
they were in the habit of meeting in private houses on even- 
ings, for prayer and social meetings, and for religious conver- 
sation, and in tJic school house on Main Street, on Lord's 
days, for public worship, and when no preacher was present 
for prayer and conference meetings. From the character of 
Mr. Taylor's remarks respecting other sections of the coun- 
ty, they are omitted entirely, as not entitled to "faith aiul 
credit," and as unjust to a people generally distinguished for 
their integrity and their moral and religious lives. 

The first framed house in Utica is supposed to have been 
erected by Col. John Bellinger, upon the south side of Whites- 
boro Street, upon or near the site of Jones' wagon and black- 
smith's shops. Deacon Potter erected a framed house about 



xxiii.] UTicA. 549 

the same time, which is )'et standing, near the residence of 
the late F. W. Potter. Col. Bellinger's tavern house, built 
)!i the opposite side of the street, at a very early period, is 
:!iow the rear wing of the New England House. Then, as in 
all new countries, every man in a certain sense, was a tavern 
keeper, who had room, provisions and hay, with which he 
tiould accommodate '• movers " and persons travelling upon 
business. 

In these notices of men, things, and events, the author is 
aware he has been extremely scattering^ and has mixed up 
ingredients which have no apparent affinity, but he has put 
tliem down something in the order in which he found them, 
and some of them came to hand after others had been con- 
signed to the printer, and this must be his apology for, it may 
be, a few slight discrepances. If he has omitted any whom 
]ie should have named, the omission was unintentional, and 
happened from non-suggestion or want of data. 

The following are some of the events worth mentioning 
■^vhich have occurred in Utica, in comparatively modern 
times : — 

March 26, 1828, a large meeting was held in behalf of 
the Greeks, Avhich resulted in very liberal contributions 
for that people. 

On the 9th of September, 1831, a large meeting of the cit- 
izens of Utica was held at the Court House, in behalf of the 
Poles then engaged in their last struggle for liberty against 
Ilussia. Hon. Nathan Williams, chairman, and Gen. Joseph 
Kirkland, secretary. An address and resolutions were 
adopted, and Messrs. A. B. Johnson, D. Wager, T. H. Hub- 
hard, Joseph Kirkland, Montgomery Hunt, Horatio Sey- 
mour, William J. Bacon, Rudolph Snyder, James S. Porter, 
Abraham Culver, E. B. Shearman, Ammi Dows, A. Munson, 
J. ]McGregor, Aug. Hulburt, James Piatt, John Newland, 



550 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

E.A Maynard, T. E. Walker, and Dr. J. McCall were 
appointed a committee to raise funds for the Poles, and tran^;- 
mit the same to Gen. Lafayette, who had consented to be- 
come the medium of communication between the Americans 
and that people. The following is his letter acknowledging^ 
the receipt of those funds : 

'• Paris, November 29, IhSl. 

"Gentlemen: — The resolutions, the address, the donation <it' 
$974,59 and the letter which ray American fellow citizens of Uticii 
liavc been pleased to send to me, could not fail to excite those feel- 
ings of admiration, pride and gratitude, the more gratifying to in}- 
heart when I remember the situation of your part of the country in 
tlie years 1777 and 1794, as well as the welcome bestowed upon me 
six years ago in your flourishing and beautiful town. The unhappy 
downfall of Poland will have been known in Utica long before this 
answer can reach you. But while we have to mourn togctlur over 
the fate of that heroic nation, and to hope the day of justice sliali 
again rise upon them, we find some consolation in the thought tliat 
the appropriation of fraternal relief could never be so seasonable as 
it proves to be in their present cireumstances. I have requested the 
American committee that had framed the first address to tlie syni- 
pathy of the citizens of the United States, to assist me in the judi- 
cious distribution of the money entrusted to my hands. Wv meet 
every week, and there is an understanding between us, the French 
committee and a committee of the Poles already arrived in this cap- 
ital. Accounts of those proceedings have already been transmitted t<: 
New York. Every mark of your so long experienced atfection and 
confidence, is to me a most precious treasure. I beg you, gentlemen. 
to receive yourselves, and to transmit to the citizens of Utica. tli( 
homage of my grateful and aflectionate respect. 

LAFAYETTE." 

" The Gentlemen of the Utica Committee."' 

The original of the foregoing letter was preserved in a 
handsome frame in the Common Council room, until that 
room and its contents were destroyed by fire. 



XXIII.] UTICA. 551 

Junc25tli, 1831, Clinton Market was opened. 

On Sunday, the 12th of July, 1832, the Asiatic cholera 
njade its appearance, and four persons died during the day. 
A large portion of the citizens soon left, stores and shops, 
and even most of the churches, were closed, and nearly all 
business, except that relating to the sick and the dead, was 
suspended. From that time to the 7th of August the dis- 
ease raged, there being 201 cases and sixty-three deaths re- 
ported, the latter witii seven not reported, or which occurred 
-subsequently, making a total of seventy deaths. July 17th, 
Ezra S. Cozier, an old and highly respected citizen and a 
magistrate for many years, fell a victim to the disease, in the 
forty-eighth year of his age. He devoted liis time to the 
(•arc of the sick, to attentions to the bereaved, and the burial 
of the dead, and in about one hour after visiting the hospital, 
was in his grave. He w'as President of the village several 
years, and was a man of sound judgment, strict integrity, and 
great amiability of heart. The Encampment, Chapter and 
Lodge of ]Masons, of which he had been long a member, uni- 
ted in erecting a monument over his grave. 

January 13, 1834, a public discussion of the questions of 
•■ Colonization and Anti-slavery," was brought to a clo.se iu 
the First Presbyterian Church, having been commenced in 
the Reformed Dutch Church, December 31, and continued 
upon the 3d, 7th, 8th, 9th and lOth iust., with much Zealand 
talent displayed. 

July 31, Town clock completed on Bleecker Street Church. 

Xov. 18, Parker and Seymour's flouring mill, at foot of 
Crenesee Street, below the bridge, destroyed by fire. 

October 21, 1835, the first Anti-slavery State Convention 
ever held in this State, convened at the Bleecker Street 
Presbyterian Church. This was at an early period in the 
abolition agitation — and there were then but about twenty 



552 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [oiIAP. 

avowed aLolitionists iii Utica. It having been understood 
that such a convention was to be called at this place, a largo 
jueeting of citizens of all classes was held at the court house, 
at which speeches were made, and a series of temperate and 
dignified, yet high-toned resolutions were adopted, urging 
and warning the abolitionists against calling the convention 
at this place. Notwithstanding this and the remon.strances 
of the press, etc., the convention was called at the court house, 
that building having been granted by the Common Council 
hy a vote of 7 to 4 — the Mayor, Hon. Joseph Kirkland, vo- 
ting in the negative. October 17th, another large meeting 
was held at the court house, of which Rudolph Snyder was 
president; J. C. Devercus, Ephraim Hart. E. S. Barnuni. 
Kellogg llurlburt, Adam Bowman, Nicholas Smith, and J. 
U. Pease, vice presidents ; and Isaiah Tiffany and Wm. C 
Noyes, secretaries. Samuel Beardsley, Joshua M. Church, 
il. B. Miller, Chaunccy Howe and B. B. Lansing were the 
committee, and reported resolutions condemning the action of 
tlie Common Council, as an usurpation of power, and an in- 
dignity to the citizens, approving the course of the Mayor 
and the minority of the Council, and declaring that the meet- 
ing would " not sabmit to the indignity of an abolition as- 
isemblagc being hold in a public building of the city, reared 
as this was, by the contributions of the citize-ns, and designed 
to be used for salutary public objects, and not as a receptacle 
for deluded fanatics or reckless incendiaries," and that it was 
the " incumbent duty of every citizen to make use of all 
lawful and proper measures to arrest the disgrace which 
would settle upon the city, by the public assemblage of the 
convention appointed to be held on the 21st inst," and that 
this meeting adjourn to meet at the same place (court house ; 
on the 21st inst., at 9 A. M. 

Oa the 20th. a meeting was held at the court house bv 



XXIII.] UTICA. 553 

those who claimed not to be abolitionls-tSj but who were in 
favor of '• maintaining the supremacy of the laws at all times, 
and under all circumstances, and who were opposed to any 
;ibridgment of the right of free and temperate discussion 
guaranteed by the constitution." Bradford Seymour was 
chosen chairman, H. Nash, E. M. Gilbert, and Dr. J. I^ 
Batchelder, assistant chairmen, and John Bradisli, Jas. Sayrc, 
.'ivid James McGregor, secretaries. On motion of Harry 
]5ushnell, Dolphas Bennett, Horace M. Hawes, T. B. Dixou, 
Dr. J. llathbun and Andrew Hanna were appointed a com- 
mittee, Avho reported resolutions declaring the right of free- 
dom of speech, and of the press, and of the people peaceably 
TO assemble ; in favor of maintaining the supremacy of the 
laws by all legal and proper means, and as the only basi/s 
upon which our institutions and liberties can safely rest, and 
of resisting every attempt to invade said right, and promising 
protection to every American in the free, temperate and un- 
restrained use of the same, and to that end pledging their 
lives, fortunes and sacred honor. The first resolution was 
adopted amid much coaifusion, and pending the second, the 
jneeting adjourned in a row. The officers signed a statement 
declaring that the assertion of " some vile calumniators " that 
■• this meeting was designed to favor the schemes of the abo- 
litionists" was " a base falsehood." October 21, at 9 A. M. 
the meeting of citizens was held at the court house according 
to adjournment with the same officers. The Anti-slavery 
convention consisting of about GOO delegates, from all parhs 
of the state, met and organized ratlier hastily, at the Second 
(Ihurch. on Bleeckcr Street, by calling Judge Brewster of 
3Iouroe County to the chair, and Kcv. Oliver Wetmorc, of 
TJtica, was chosen secretary. The day had been ushered in 
by the firing of cannon, and thousands flocked to the city from 
:he country and neighboring counties. At the Democratic 



-554 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF. 

County Convention at Hampton, October 15, a resolution had 
been adopted, on motion of Major John D. Leland, declaring 
" that the citizens of Utica owe it to themselves, to the State 
and to the Union, that the contemplated convention of incen- 
diary individuals is not permitted to assemble within its cor- 
porate bounds ; that their churches, their court, academy and 
school rooms be closed against these wicked or deluded men, 
who, whatever may be their pretensions, are riveting the fet- 
ters of the bond-men and enkindling the flames of civil strife." 
The meeting at the court house appointed J. Watson 
Williams, Chester Hayden, Geo. J. Hopper, Kutger B. Miller 
and Harvey I5arnard a committee, who reported resolution.'^ 
re-affirming the positions of the former meetings respecting 
the holding of an Abolition Convention in Utica, and advising 
the appointment of a committee of twenty-five to advise tin- 
delegates to thai Convention of the state of public feeling and 
sentiment here, and to urge and remonstrate against the as- 
.sembling of such convention, and to '-warn them to abandon 
their pernicious movements," etc., etc. The committee of 
twenty-five, consisting of Chester Hayden, E. B. Miller, S. 
Bcardsley, Ezra Dean, William Tracy, J. W. Williams. K. 
A. Wetmore, A. Q. Dauby, 0. B. Matteson, C W. Hubbard. 
J. D. Leland, Benjamin Ballou. Aug. Hickox, A. B. Wil- 
liams, Julius A. Spencer, H. Barnard, T. M. Francis, B. F. 
Cooper, I. Tiffany, D. Wager, T. S. Gold, A. Blakesley, Bur- 
ton Hawley, Jesse Newell and J. H. Dwight, proceeded to 
tlie church, attended by a large concourse of people. After 
considerable violence and force, an entrance was effected, 
amid the greatest noise and confusion. The resolutions of 
the court-house meeting wea-o read to the Convention, and 
then the latter was broken up amid a scene of uproar, threats 
of violence and imprecations npon the delegates, who were all 
driven from the house, and subsequently from the city. The 



sxiii.] UTiCA. 555 

church was loclied and the key taken by C A. Mann, the 
agent of the owner of the building, and the committee and 
-crowd returned to the court house. At this day these pn^- 
oeedings seem strange. The author only designed to give the 
more prominent facts without " note or comment," as forming 
an item in the history of Utica. xVs might have been antic- 
ipated, hundreds became abolitionists, merely from sympath}-. 

January lOth and 11th, 1836, snow fell four feet indeptli. 
Sleighing for four months afterwards — hay thirty dollars per 
ton in April. 

May 5. — Great break in the canal near Nail Creek. 

July 22. — First engine run over the Utica and Schenectady 
Hail Road, and Aug. 2, first train of pas.senger cars arrived 
at Utica. 

September 26. — Snow an inch deep. 

December 18. — First burial in the new or west burial 
ground. 

On the 31st of March, 1837, the '-great fire" occurred iu 
Utica, the largest which has ever occurred in the place. Ir, 
commenced at No. 53, lower corner of Genesee and Broad 
Streets, in a row of old wooden stores, which extended dowti 
Genesee Street, about half way to the square. These were 
quickly swept away, and the brick stores below were soon 
in flames, and their contents, not burned in them, were piled 
in front in the centre of Genesee Street. There being a, 
strong east wind, a sheet of flame was carried nearly across 
Genesee Street, and soon the fine brick stores on that side 
were in flames. Large quantities of goods which had been 
placed in the centre of the street, melted away under the arch 
of fire above them. Soon the few buildings on Broad Street, 
west of John, and on John below Broad, were in ashes, ex- 
cepting only the fire proof store on John Street, of E. B. 
Shearman. On the east side of Genesee the fire extended 



^/)6 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

tlown to and including the stores fronting the square, excep- 
ting that on the corner of John Street. On the west side of 
• irenesee the fire extended from Np. 54 inclusive, to the cor- 
ner of Whitesboro, (two stores on that corner, the site of the 
log cabin had been burned a few months previously.) des- 
troying ten stores, and the four story temperance house, kept 
by Captain William Clarke. On Whitesboro Street every 
thing was destroyed east of the brick dwelling, on the cornci- 
of Jiurchard Street, including " Burchard's Inn," upon the 
.site of the McGregor house, and also the small buildings and 
fixtures in the city garden. The loss for a place of its size, 
was immense, but in the end, the fire, as is generally the ease, 
was the means of greatly improving that part of the town. 

July 25, 1837, Daniel Webster delivered a speech in Steu- 
ben Park. 

June 27, 1839. — First train of cars over Syracuse and Utica 
liail Road. 

^September 11. — President Van Buren visited the city. 

August 8, 1840. — Log cabin upon corner of Genesee and 
^\'}iitesboro Streets completed. 

August 3, 1841. — Captain AVilliam Clark, an old and 
liighly i-espected citizen, died. Capt. Clark held a lieutenant^ 
and captain's commissions in the twenty-third regiment U. S. 
Infantry, during the v/ar of 1812 — he was severely wounded 
at the battle of Quecnston, and received a pension for the 
remainder of his life. 

February 5, 1842.— Mohawk bridge at foot of Genesee St 
earried away. 

July 17, 1843. — Military Encampment in Utica. 

July 19. — John Q. Adams visited the city. 

January 9, 1844. — Moses Bagg, (Jr.) an old resident and 
]ong the proprietor of Bagg's Hotel, died, aged 64. 

June 19. — Ole Bull's concert. 



XXIIl.] UTICA. 5o7 

October 19.-— Thomas James, and Mary Ms wife, resident? 
in the place for many years, died, aged forty-nine, and were 
buried in the same grave. 

Sept. 16, 1845. — Fair of State Agricultural Society com- 
menced. 

May 9, 1547. — While Rev. Mr. Corey was baptizing in 
the Mohawk, a portion of the bridge broke down, and about 
twenty persons were precipitated into the water or upon the 
rocks at the foot of the butment. W. 0. Smith was killed 
and several injured to a greater or less degree. 

July 4. — Mr. Wise ascended in a balloon. 

May 21, 1851. — President Fillmore visited the city. 

During the year 1850 and winter of 1851. a large number 
of most disastrous fires occurred in the city, nearly all of 
which were the works of incendiaries. June 5, 1851, James 
J. Orcutt was convicted at Rome, before Judge Allen, of ar- 
son in the first degree, in burning the barns etc. of Butterfield 
& Co., in rear of the National Hotel, in the last spring. 
Others are indicted for similar offences. Orcutt was sen- 
tenced to be executed on the 1st of August, but has been re- 
prieved by Gov. Hunt, until the 24th of October next. Re- 
wards amounting to $ 700, had been offered by the Common 
Council for the detection of the offenders. 

To allow the intellect of the reader to rest from the con- 
sideration of the weightier matters of history, the following 
advertisement is given, as referring to an instance " of the im- 
parting and acquisition of knowledge under peculiar circum- 
stances." 

" Mr. Winfield wishes to inform the citizens of Utica and 
vicinity, that he will give an Exhibition of his dog-school^ on 
Thursday Evening, March 12th (1846), at the Mechanics' 
Hall. Doors open at 7 o'clock, and performance at half past 
7. Admittance 25 cts." 



55S ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHA? 

This is sufl&cient to keep the great facts^ the dog-school at 
No. 22 Post Street, and the public exhibition of the dogs, 
in remembrance, and with these, the details will be transmit- 
ted by tradition and song, from generation to generation. 
3Ir. Winfield as a professor of Canagogy. and as a friend to 
dog and man, received from the citizens of that period many 
attentions, although he possessed a skin no darker than many 
of the great men of antiquity. 



HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION. 

As before stated, the eastern line of Whitestown, originally 
crossed the Mohawk at the fording place, near the log cabin 
of Mr. Cunningham, which stood at the lower end of Genesee 
Street, near the site of the Rail-road depot, thus leaving old 
Fort. Schuyler village in two towns. Upon the formation (if 
Oneida County, in 1798, the east line of Whitestown and 
the county, was carried eastwardly to its present location, at 
the east line of the city. 

On the 3d of April, 1798, an act was passed entitled '• Act 
to vest certain powers in the freeholders and inhabitants of 
the village commonly known by the name of old Fort Schuy- 
ler." The first section is as follows : " The district of coun- 
try contained within the following boundaries, to wit : begiii- 
]ung at a point or place on the south side of the Mohawk 
Kiver, where the division line between lots No. 97 and 98. in 
Cosby's manor strikes the said river, thence running souther- 
ly in the said division line to a point in the same forty chains 
southerly of the great road leading to Fort Stanwix, thence 
cast thirty-seven degrees south, to the easterly line of the 
County of Oneida, thence northerly in the said county line to 



XXIII. j CTicA. 559 

the Mohawk river, thence westerij up the waters thereof to 
the place of beginning, shall hereafter be known and distin- 
guished by the name of the village of Utiea." 

This is the' first act of incorporation of Utica. and gave the 
inhabitants the right to elect five freeholders as trustees, 
who had the powers then usually granted to small incorpora- 
ted villages respecting roads, estrays, pounds, etc., etc. At 
:i meeting of the citizeiis previously held toc-onsider the ques- 
tion of incoiiDoration, Utica was proposed as a name by the 
late Erastus Clark, and adopted, but the reasons for the se- 
lection, and the other names proposed, if any, are matters 
lost and forgotten. As the records of the village for the first 
seven years are also lost, it is not known what was done or 
who were the village officers, excepting that Francis A. 
Bloodgood was treasurer in 1800 and 1801, and Talcott 
Camp in 1802. The act of incorporation has been consider- 
ed somewhat anomalous, because in its title only the name of 
" old Fort Schuyler " is given, and in the body of the act 
only that of Utiea. The west line of the village crossed 
Whitesboro Street a few feet west of its intersection by 
Varick Street. 

April 9. 1805, a new charter, more comprehensive in its 
provisions and powers, was granted to the village, and its 
bounds were extended so as to include lots 98 and 99. By 
this act five " discreet freeholders " were to be annually cho- 
sen as Trustees. At the first election, held at the school 
Jiouse May 7, 1805, the old trustees presided and Ab'in. 
Yarick, Jr., acted as clerk, and upon counting the ballots 
Erastus Clark, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Jr., Nathan Wil- 
]iams, Francis A. Bloodgood and Jerathmael Ballou were 
declared elected trustees. The new board at their first meeting 
May 13th, appointed David W. Childs, clerk, with a salary 
of $ 5.00 for the year. Isaac Coe, treasurer, and Worden 



560 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Hammond, collector. They also voted to appoint '' twenty- 
five able bodied men as firemen," and Gurdon Burehard, 
Daniel Budlong, John Hooker, Ezekiel Clark, John Plobby. 
Abijah Thomas, Moses Bagg, Jr., John C. Devereux, Wm. 
Fellows, Thomas Ballou, Worden Hammond, Ebenezer ]i 
Shearman, Henry Trowbridge, Thomas Walker, Ealph W. 
Kirkland, Hugh Cunningham, James Bloodgood, Aaron Eg- 
gleston, Judah Williams, Elisha Capron, Rufus Brown, Jas. 
Van Rensselaer, Oliver Babcock and Benjamin Ballou, Jr.. 
were appointed. Mr. Walker is now the only individual of 
this number residing in the city, if not the only one living. 
The fire regulations included only lots 93, 94, 95. 96. Voted 
that the seal of the trustees " be a heart, with the letter V 
in the centre." 

June 3. — Voted that the assize of bread for the ensuing 
month be as follows : Wheat fourteen shillings per bushel, a 
loaf of superfine wheat flour, to weigh two pounds ten ounces, 
for one shilling, and other sizes in proportion : a loaf of com- 
mon wheat flour, to weigh three pounds three ounces, for one 
shilling, with a fine of five dollars for selling at a higher 
price, for each ofi'ence. The " assize of bread" was regulated 
and published monthly, as long as Utica was a village. 

May 6, 1806. — The old trustees were all re-elected. 

May 5, 1807. — Messrs. Clark, Van Rensselaer. Ballou. 
Williams and John Hooker were elected trustees, and Geo 
Richards appointed clerk, and Abraham D. Van Home, vil- 
lage attorney. 

July 13. — Memorandum: "Joshua Ostrom and John 
Culver are applicants for the nest vacancies in the fire com- 
pany." 

March 7, 1808. — Voted to pay three dollars and six cents 
for expense of watch for winter of 1805-6. 

May 3, 1808. — Messrs. Hooker and Ballou, and Morris S. 



XXIII.] tJTICA. 561 

Miller, John Bellinger and Nathaniel Butler, were elected 
trustees. 

In September of tliis year, a fire engine is first mentioned 
upon the records preserved, which a committee is directed to 
examine and to make necessary repairs. About this time it 
appears frotn memoranda upon the records, that Lewis Ma- 
comber, Walter King, Ira Merrill, Jesse Newell, Watts 
J^herman, Reuben Brown, Lynott Bloodgood, J. H. Beach, 
John B. Mitchell, John Osborn, Henry B. Gribson, Nathan- 
iel Butler, William Winne, D. W. Childs, Anson Thomas, 
William Williams, John Bradish, and John Camp, jr., were 
applicants for appointments as firemen. Thomas Walker 
was clerk of the fire company several years, and once a quar- 
ter was required to report all absentees from fires and regu- 
lar meetings, and at the option of the trustees, they were 
expelled from the company, unless they could make a good 
excuse. The trustees for 1809, were Messrs. Hooker, Bal- 
lon, Bellinger, Talcott Camp and Solomon Wolcott. 

January 2, 1810. the trustees " voted that the village pump 
be put in complete repair, and that a contract be made with 
•some faithful person to keep the same in repair one year." 
This pump was in the centre of Genesee Street, nearly on a 
line with the south side Of Whitesboro Street. 

January 11," voted to employ three watchmen for patrol- 
ling the streets," and William Jones, Nitus Hobby, and 

— Wing were employed, at six shillings per night. A 

formidable code of instructions and regulations was adopted 
for the government of the watchmen, which are entered at 
length upon the records. They were required to watch from 
Judge Cooper's to Morris S. Miller's, at the lower end of 
Main Street 

May, 1810, Messrs. Camp, John C Hoyt, J. C. Devereux. 
R. Snyder and Ab'm. M. Walton were elected trustees. 

36 



562 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

November IG. — The sum of $ 1,000 having been raised by 
subscription for purchasing a new fire engine, "Watts Sher- 
man, Esq,, was appointed agent of the village, to proceed to 
New York or Philadelphia, and purchase one at a price not 
exceeding $1,200. About this time several buildings were 
burned, as was supposed by incendiaries, and a reward of 
$ 1 50 was offered for their detection. 

May, 1811. — Messrs. Camp, Devereux, Van Rensselaer, 
Frederick White and Ebenezcr B. Sheai-man were elected 
trustees. 

At the annual meeting of freeholders and inhabitants^ May 
5. 1812, Messrs. Camp, Van Rensselaer, Shearman, Arthur 
Breese and Thomas Skinner were elected trustees, and vc^jcd 
to erect a public market, at an expense of % 300, of wood, 
with stone foundation, to stand " on the public square be- 
tween Mr. Moses Bagg's tavern and the store of Mr. Dever-. 
cux." This is the square in front of Bagg's Hotel. 

May, 1813. — Messrs. Camp, Shearman. Moses Bagg, Mont- 
gomery Hunt and Seth Bwight were elected trustees ; S. 
Pwight, clerk. The question of location of the market after- 
wards caused considerable excitement, and subsequently a 
special town meeting was called to consider the question of 
removal, but the majority were still in favor of the first loca- 
tion. However-, atasypecial meeting, Nov. 2, 1814, the mar- 
ket was ordered to be removed to the corner of Division and 
Water Streets. The trustees this year Avcre Messrs. Camp. 
Van Rensselaer, William.^, William Wi^ine and Samuel 
Stocking. J. H. Ostrom, clerk. This market building is now 
a part of the City Coffee-house, kept by Mr. Beston. 

May, 1815. — Abram Van Santvuord, Aug. Hiekox, Gur- 
don Burchard, Jason Parker and William Ueer were elected 
trustees. 

In 1815 and '16. the trustees issued considerable sum? in 



XX«I.] UTICA. 56t) 

small bills, called " shin plasters," varying in denominatiou 
from three cents to a dollar. In this, they only followed a 
custom prevalent among banks, cities, villages and individu- 
als throughout the country. 

May, 1816. — Messrs. Snyder, Barchard, Greer, Ezra S. Co- 
zier and Hickox were elected trustees. 

June 13, 1816, the trustees voted to number the building;"' 
on Genesee Street. 

On the 7th of April, 1817, a new act of incorporation 
passed the legislature, and by which the west line extended. 
Hfty chains south of the "great road to Fort Stanwix," and 
thence east thirty-seven degrees south to the county line. 
By this act the village was divided into three wards as fol- 
lows : all east of a line beginning at the river in the centre of 
<>enesee Street, thence up Genesee to John, thence up John 
to the centre of Broad, thence down Broad to the centre of 
First, thence southerly in the middle of First Street to the 
.south line of the village, was the first ward. All betweeii 
'Am west line of the first ward and a line beginning at the 
south line of the village in the centre of Grenesee Street, and 
thence north in the middle of Grenesee to a point on a line with 
the centre of Hotel, thence down the centre of Hotel Street 
CO and across Whitesboro and along the east wall of the York 
House to the river, was the second ward, and all west of tiu^ 
last described line was the third ward. The oflBicers author- 
ized by tliis charter, were a president, six trustees, a supervi- 
sor, a clerk, treasurer, collector, three assessors and two con- 
stables. By the same act " that part of Whitestown inclu- 
ded within the limits of the village of Utica," was" created 
into a separate town by the name of Utica." 

Trustees in 1817, E. S. Cozier, William Williams, Jere- 
miah. Van Rensselaer, A. Van Sa^ntvoord, Erastus Clark, 
Job&C. Hoyt. 



564 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [CHAP. 

In 1818, Messrs. Van Santvoord, Rudolph Snyder, Cozier. 
Enos Brown, Marcus Hitchcock, J. E. Hinman. 

In 1819, Messrs. Cozier, Hinman, David P. Hoyt, Gurdon 
Burchard, Snyder, Wm. Alverson. 

In 1820, Messrs. Cozier, Hinman, James Hooker, Abm 
Culver, Ezekiel Bacon, Thomas Walker. Each ward elected 
two trustees under the charter of 1817, and their names arc 
^ivcn in the numerical order of their wards. 

The following is a list of the presidents of the village from 
1805 to 1831, inclusive: Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Jr. 1805 
and '6; Erastus Clark, 1807 ; Morris S. Miller, 1808; Tal- 
cott Camp, 1809, '10, '11, '12 '13 and '14; Abraham Van 
Santvoord, 1815; Rudolph Snyder, 1816 and '20 ; Nathan 
Williams, 1817, '18 and '19; William Clark, 1824,- '25, '28. 
and '29; EzraS. Cozier, 1821, '22, '23, '26, '27, '30 and '3!. 
Mr. Snyder is the only one of the number now residing ir^ 
Utica, 

Utica received a city charter by an act of the Legislaturf; 
passed February 13, 1832. The city was divided by Geneset; 
Street and the Erie Canal, into four quarters or wards, the 
north-east quarter being the first ward, the north-west quarter 
the second ward, the south-west quarter the third ward, and 
the south-east quarter the fourth ward. The officers elected 
under the charter were a mayor, four justices, one supervisor 
and three constables for the city, and three aldermen, one as- 
sessor and three inspectors of election in each ward. Those 
appointed by the common council were city clerk, attorney, 
treasurer, overseer of the poor, street commissioner, survey- 
or, county and city collectors, two police constables, watch- 
pien, etc., etc. 

The amount of the city tax was limited at $ 8.000. By 
the school law of 1 843, two school commissioners are elected 
annually, who hold their office>s three years. 



xxui. I UTiCA.- 5G5 

Ou ilie- night of the 7th of Beceniber, 1848, the common 
^!Ouncil room, situated oo the east side of Hotel Street. wa& 
destroyed by fire, with its entire contentSv None of the books, 
records or papers, relating to the village and city governments 
were saved, excepting the books of minutes of the proceed- 
ings of the trustees, subsequent to May, 1805, and of the com- 
mon council, since the organization of the city. 

On the 31st of Marcli, 1849, the original city charter was 
repealed, and an act containing a new charter passed by the 
legislature. By this act the city is divided into six wards ; 
the first and second remaining as before, and the third, divi- 
ded by the Chenango Canal, forms the third lying east, and 
the sixth lying west of said canal. The fourth is divided by 
.1 line beginning at the Erie Canal in the centre of John Street. 
thence up the centre of John to Rutger, thence in the centre 
of Rutger to West, thence in the centre of ^Yest to the city 
line and that part west of said line is fourth, and that part 
east of said line is the fifth ward. The city, more intelligi- 
bly described in this charter, is bounded on the west by the 
line between lots 99 and 100 of Cosby's manor, beginning at 
the river and thence to a point in said line 200 rods south of 
tlie south side of Varick Street, thence at right angles with said 
line east to the east line of the county. The officers elected 
under this charter are a mayor, recorder, attorney, treasurer, 
surveyor, overseer of the poor, marshal, street commissioner, 
four justices of the peace and six school commissioners for 
the city and two aldermen, a supervisor, assessor, collector, 
constable and inspectors of election for each ward. Each 
ward elects one alderman every year, who holds his office for 
two years ; and the common council appoint the clerk, chief 
engineer of the fire department, watchmen, etc. 

The following is a list of the mayors of Utica, with the 
year of their appointment or election. Joseph Kirkland, 



566 



ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. 



[chap. 



1832, '34 and '35 ; Henry Seymour, 1833 ; John H. Ostrom. 
1836; Theodores. Gold, 1837; Charles P. Kirkland, 1838: 
John C. Devereux, 1839 and '40; Spencer Kellogg, 1841 • 
Horatio Seymour, 1842; Frederick Hollister, 1843 ; Ward 
Hunt, 1844; Edmund A. Wetmore, 1845 and '46; J. Wat- 
son Williams, 1847; Joshua A. Spencer, 1848; Thomas K. 
Walker, 1849 and '50 ; John E. Hinman, 1851. Previously 
to 1840, the mayors were chosen, by the common council, and 
.•subsequently elected by the people. 



COPULATION OF UTICA AT VARIOUS FERIODl? 

It has always been supposed that there was a consideraLlv 
error in the footing of the census of 1840, as is manifest by i 
comparison with that of 1845. 



In 1813 ... 


1700 


In 1829 ... 


,. SO 10 


•• 1816 ... 


2861 


•• 1830 ... 


. 8335 


•• 1820 ... 


2972 


" 1835 ... 


. 10,183 


•• 1823 ... 


4017 


'• 1840 ... 


. 12,782 


•• 1825 ... 


5040 


■• 1845 ... 


. 12,190 


•• 1828 ... 


7466 


^- 1850 ... 


. 17.556 



CHURCHES. 



Previously to the organization of any church in Utica, 
and some time before 1800, several of the more prominent 
citizens of various sects and creeds, believing in the propriety 
and beneficial influences of religious observances, agreed to 
liold meetings on Sunday, which should be free from sectari- 



xxiii.j UTicA. 567 

anism, and that they would officiate in their various services. 
These meetings were held for some time in tJie school house, 
where the services of singing, prayer and the reading of a 
sermon were conducted by men not " in the succession," and, 
as being " neither one thing nor the other," Blair's sermons 
were selected for the •preaching. But this, like all efforts of 
the sort, was destined to fail, for some gentleman discovering 
or imagining that he -discovered something counter to his the- 
ological views m one of Dr. Blair's sermons, the union was 
dissolved, and the church was resolval into its original ele- 
ments. 

Flr^t Utica rrcsbytcriaii CJatrvli. — On the 2 Ist of August. 
1794, the Kev. Bethuel Dodd, a. licentiate of the presbytery 
of New York and New Jersey, was ordained the first pastor 
of the United Society of Whitestown. The members of this 
society resided in the villages of Whitesboro and old Fort 
Schuyler and the country adjacent, and at an early period 
meetings were held occasionally in the latter village, and, sub- 
sequently, the meetings of this church were held alternately 
at the two villages. 

In 1803, '• Tlie First Presbyterian Society of Utica "was 
formed. Stephen Potter and Ebenezer Dodd, the only elders 
of that church in Utica, presided at the organization and the 
election of trustees. First trustees : Jeremiah Van Kensse- 
laer. Erastus Clark, Talcott Camp, Apollos Cooper, Benja- 
min Ballou, jr., Benjamin Plant, John C. Hoyt, Nathaniel 
Butler and Solomon P. Goodrich. Rev. Mr. Dodd died 
April 11, 1804, aged thirty-seven years, and the Rev. James 
Carnahan, a licentiate of the presbytery of New Brunswick^ 
and now the venerable president of Nassau Hall College, 
of Princeton, N. J., was on the second of January, 1805, or- 
dained pastor over the united Presbyterian churches of 



568 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY'. [CHAP. 

Whitesboro and Utica. Mr. Carnahan preached alternately 
at Whitesboro and Utica until 1812, when ill health com- 
pelled him to resign his charge. (See History of Whitestown 
for a more extended account of this church before the di- 
vision). 

On the 3d of February, 1813, the union of the two churches 
was dissolved, and on the 4th of the same month, the llev. 
Henry Dwight was installed pastor of " The First Utica 
Presbyterian Church and Society," he and Rev. Mr. Frost, 
pastor of the church in "Whitesboro*. exchanging every alter- 
nate Lord's day. Mr. Dwight wa.s, dismissed from his charge 
on the 1st of October, 1817, on account of ill health, having 
been entirely disabled for several months. 

On the 4th of February, 1818, Rev. Samuel C. Aikin. a 
licentiate of the Presbytery of Londonden-y, N. H. (and now 
of Cleveland, Ohio), was ordained pastor of the church, and 
discharged the duties of his office with great fidelity, and to 
the acceptance of his large and increasing congregation, until 
183G. 

On the 9th of May, 1836, Rev. John "VY. Fowler was in- 
stalled. His successor. Rev. Charles S. Porter, was. instated 
pastor of the church and society on the 23d of Mayeh, 1842. 
Rev. "William H. Spencer was ordained as pastor-, Janjiar}' 
13. 1846, and dismissed ai his own request in October, 1850. 
Rev. Philetnon H. Fowler, the present pastor, commenced 
his labors about the 1st of January, and was installed j)astor, 
February 10, 1851, iu Concert Hall. Sermon by Rev. Prof 
Hopkins, of Auburn. 

The a,uthoi* has been unable^to leani the number of me^nbers 
ut the time of the organization of the church. During the 
ministry of M\\ Dwight iis numbered about 200, and since its 
organization about 1 600 persons have united upon profession 
and otherwise. Present number of resident mem.bers about 



xxiii.J uTiCA. 569 

460. Ill i'-826, this, clim-ch with tile others in this section 
enjoyed an extensive revival of religion. Rev. Charles G. 
Finney commenced his.labors in this society about the 1st of 
February, and the number of converts in the village was es- 
timated at 500, of whom more than 100 united with this 
church that year, upwards of fifty with the Second church, 
forty with the Welsh Congregational church, many with tlie 
Baptist and Methodist churches, and others of this number 
united with these chui'ches during the next year. This, 
churcli has also enjoyed revivals at otlier periods. 

In 1807, the church completed its fjrst house of worship, of 
wood, a very handsome building for the time, and which was. 
occupied nearly twenty ycai's. In 1826, the wooden church 
edifice, until then occupied, was cut into two parts, one of 
which is now the Mansion House, corner of Fayette and, 
l\'as]iington Streets, and the other the large dwelling on 
Whitcsboro Street, in front of the tannery of the late David 
P. Hoyt. The society erected in its place on the west side of 
AVashington Street, just below Liberty, the huge and beautiful 
brick church, which was destroycd.by the incendiary's torch oit, 
the night of the l;2th of -Xanuary, 1851. This building was 
dedicated Nov. 8, 1 827, and was an ornament to the city, and 
a monument of the enterprise and liberality of the church and 
society. Its cost was abouti $30,000; and when destroyed 
contained an organ which cost !$4,000. Its tower and spire 
were two hundred and fifteen feet in heighth and served as a 
landmark for the country around for several miles. The 
church is erecting during the present summer (1851), a cred- 
itable successor to the building destroyed, upon the north-west 
corner of "Washington and Columbia Streets, 73: by 104. 
feet, with a building for session room, etc. adjoining. Wit a 
brick tower about 100 feet high, surmounted by a spire of 
tliO same heisrhth. and the difference in the eslevation of the- 



570 ANNALS OF CNEIEA COUNTY. [CUAT. 

>ite, the steeple of the new church will exeoed that of the 
former by about five feet. Its estimated cost is §40,000. 

Trinity [Ejmcojial) Chiarh.-^The following extracts arc 
taken from the reccRrds of this church. " In the year 1798, the 
village of Utica was called old Fort Schuyler, and consisted 
(Hily in a few scattered houses and shops. No place of worship 
had been erected, nor was any minister settled in the place. 
'i'lio iiiliabitants were of different sects of religion, chiefly Pre.s- 
Ityterians and a few >Episcop8,lians." In this year tlie Rev. 
I'hilander Chase, a deacon and missionary of the-Protcstant 
]]piscopal Church (now the It t. Rev. Bishop of Illinois), on 
Iiis way westward visited the place, collected the few Episco- 
palian«, and formed them into a society, "and persuaded 
them to -meet together every Sabbath, and- read the prayers of 
•'.he church and sermons." "This was done for sometime. 
])ut other persuasions increasing fast, and the Presbyterian 
minister of Whitesboro being engaged to .preach here regu- 
larly, these meetings were discontinued. In 1803, the place 
}».ad greatly increased in population, the Presbyterian minis- 
t'or attended once in two weeks, but no house of worship had 
yet been erected, -and the meetings Averc held in the school 
room, which became crovpded." 

On the 24th of May, 1803, a meeting of the Episcopalian!* 
in the place was otiUed, at which Col. Benjamin Walker. 
William Inman and Abram M. Walton were appointed a 
i^ommittce to solicit subscripticns for building a cliurch. 
The following persons in a short time subscribed for tliis ob- 
ject : B. AValker, W. Inman, A. M. Wakon, Bryan Johnson, 
.^ohn Smith, James Hopper, Aylmer ■ JohnsoQ, Matthew 
(jodd, Nathan Williams, John C. Devereux, Jeremiali Van 
Rensselaer, John Post, Samuel Hooker, Francis A. Blood- 
2;ood, Jolm -Hooker, Hueh White, 5Pctcr Smith. John 



3rxiir.] UTiCA. 571 

Swartze, Jonas l*latt. Thomas R. Gold, Wm. Inman, for 
W.R., -Silas Hamlin, C. C. Broadhead, Charles Z. Piatt, 
Wm. G. Tracy, Marcus Hitchcock, Nathan Butler, Charles 
Walker, John Curtiss, Amos 'Bronson, David Trowbridge. 
Fredei'ick White, Aaron Eggleston, Hugh White, jr., Elizur 
Moseley, Preserved Hiekox, -P. S. Soillon, Thomas Jones. 
Total amount subscribed $2,072,50. 

June 1st. the subscribers decided to build, and appointed 
Col. Wttiker, Wm. Inman and. N. Williams a committee to 
procure plans and estimates. The plan and estimates of 
Samuel and John Hooker at $4,200. were accepted, and they 
contracted to go forward with the work to the extent of thu 
subscriptions, with the hope that funds sufficient would be 
procured from other sources. August 14, 1804, Trinity 
(Jhurch was organized, according to law, at a meeting in the 
school house, and Abi'am M. W^alton and Nathan Williams 
were chosen church-wardens, and Wm. Inman, Charles Wal- 
ton, John Smith, Benjamin Walker, Samuel Hooker, Ayl- 
raer Johnson, James Hopper and Edw-ard Smith, vestrymen. 
August 2.5, 1804, $1028 had been collected, and $1,045.69 
expended upon the house. A committee was at this time ap- 
pointed to consult the Ptt. Rev. Bishop Moore, '• as to the 
propriety of engaging a minister for one year," engaging to 
pay him $500. Soon after, the Rev. Jonathan Juddwas en- 
gaged as minister for a part of the time, he preaching the otli- 
er part in Paris. In September, 180G, the church was con- 
secrated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Moore, although then, and 
for several years afterwards, the edifice was in a very incom- 
plete state. Upon the same occasion, Mr. Amos. Gr. Baldwin, 
of Stockbridge, Mass., was ordained a deacon, and eighteen 
persons were confirmed. In the latter part of 1800, Rev. 
Mr. Baldwin succeeded 3Ir. Judd, and May 18, 1808, he was 
instituted as rector of the church. In 18^8, Sir James 



572; ANMALS OF ONEIDA ca'uNTY. [CHAP. 

Fultucy and' lady Pultney gave the chm'cli 2Gi> acres of un- 
improved land, a part of the Pultney estate, in Eaton, Mad- 
ison County. During the winter of 1810, this church occu- 
pied the Presbyterian house of worship, and during the fol- 
lowing season the church edifice wias completed. Januasy 
7. 1811. thirty-one pews were sold foi- 81,142, and a yearly 
rent of §235, was reserved, and this year Trinity Church of 
iMew York gave this church four lots in that city, then renting, 
for §25.3, and the Eaton lands were sold under an act of the 
Legislature. From Easter, in 1813, the rector officiated two- 
thirds of the time. May 12, 1818, Rev. Mr. Baldwin resign- 
ed his charge, and Aug. 22, 1819, Rev. Henry Moore Shaw 
received a call to the vacant rectorship, which he accepted. 
May 22. 1821, Rev. Mr. Shaw resigned his charge, and May 
29. the Rev. Plenty Anthon rece^y^ed a call, and was institu- 
ted rector, Sept. 20. January 19, 1829, Rev. Mr. Anthon 
resigned his charge, to accept the rectorship of St. Stephen's 
Church, New York City, and May 15th following, Rev. Ben- 
jamin Dorr received a call to become his successor. October 
0, 1835, Rev. 3Ir. Dorr, resigned his charge, and January 
IG. 183G, Rev. Pierre A. Proal, D. D., fclie present incum- 
bent, became rector of the church. In 1833, the church edi- 
fice wa.v, in the language of its records, " elongated," and 
ujade much more commodious, and otherwise improved. In 
June. 1851; the building was found to be unsafe, and services 
were discontinued until it shall have been thoroughly re- 
pa iredi 

Nuniber of commuoicants reported iu 1842, 142 ; in, 1846,, 
127 ; in 1850, 145. 

First {Welsh) Baptist Church. — This church is-tiio oldest 
regular church organization iu the city, although the Pres- 
byterians and Episcopalians held religious meetings previ- 



•XKii.) rricA. 57S 

ously to 'ite formation. In 1799, "1800 and 1801, several. 
Welsh Baptists emigrated to this place, and soon commenced 
religious meetings, with services in the Welsh language. 

?0n the 12th of Sept., 1801, twenty-two persons met at the 
log house of John Williams, upon the road opposite the Lu- 
natic Asylum, and formed the First Baptist Church of Utica. 
Of their number were, Elder James Harris and Elder John 
'Stephens, who officiated as ministers. In 1806, Abraham 
Williams, James Morgan and William Francis were elected 
the first trustees, and within this year the church erected a 
house of worship. This house was erected on the west side 
of Hotel Street, where the Erie Canal now runs. Previously to 
the Construction of the canal, it was removed to the site of their 
present church on Broadway, and afterwards was converted 
into a dwelling on Charles Street. Joseph Harris and John 
Reed were chosen the first deacons. The records arc incom- 
plete and the names of none but the following ministers have 
been obtained, in addition to Elders Harris and StevcDS. In 
! 806, Elder Abraham Williams, who had been licensed and 
ordained by the church. In 1814, Elder Stevens returned 
from New York, and became a second time pastor — and at 
the same time Elders David Criffiths and Joseph Richards, 
and subsequently Elder David Michaels, were members of 
and preached to the church. In 1836, Elder William H. 
Thomas; in 1841, Elder William F. Phillips; in 1845, El- 
der David Phillips ; in 1848, Elder Hugh Hughes, became 
pastors. In 1850, Elder David Jenkins, the present pastor, 
took charge of the church. All the services of this church 
have continued to be conducted in the Welsh language. Its 
house of worship stands upon the west side of Broadway, a 
short distance below Liberty Street, and having been en- 
larged and repaired, well accommodates the church and soci- 
ety. The church numbers about 100 communicants. 



574 ANNALS OF ON^EJDA COUNTY. [CHA?. 

Xhe llev. David Griffiths was for many years well known 
in Utica, as a Welsh Baptist preacher, and although never 
pastor of this church, he often supplied them when destitute 
of a pastor. The following is copied from the handsomv" 
monument over his grave : 

Mewn C'offadwriaeth am y diweddar Barch. Dafydd Grufi'ydd iin o 
weiiiidogion y Bedyddwyr yn preswylio yn Ffrankffort. Yr Ilwn a 
fa Farw Rhag, 27, 1840, yn 68 ain, mlwydd a deng mis Oed. Brodor 
ydoedd o Sir Benfro Dcheubartli Cymru efe a ymfudodd i Americu. 
yn yflwyddyn, 1818. 

ym|i Gorplnvys mown hun felvs 

Un weision dawnus ne 
Yji y ddugell rho'wd ei briddell 

Newid pabell wnaeth efe. 
Dros hen byngeiaii Calfin golaa 

Hoff y seintiau dygai sel : 
Moli'r Drindod am^y eymmod 

Yn ddiddarfod 'nawr a wnel. 

Welsh Congregational Church. — In 1801. ten Welsh 
I'iOngregationalists residing in Utica, united with the Pres- 
byterian church in Whitesboro. In 1802, several others ar- 
rived from Wales, and the Rev. Daniel Morris came fron. 
Philadelphia, and those just arrived, and the ten first named 
in all from fifteen to twenty in number, constituted a Welsii 
Congregational Church, which was the. second regular church 
o.rgauization in Utica. 

Until 1804, the church held its meetings in private housos, 
but within this year they erected a small framed house of 
worship, on the site of their present house, on the corner 
of Washington and Whitesboro Streets, and which was the 
first church completed in the village. Subeequently, a 
larger framed house was erected in its plico. and which iu 



5CXIU.} VJWA; 575. 

! 83 i, was- replaced by tlie present neat and; eommodioua 
brick edifice. 

In ISlOjRev. Mr. Morris re.signed his charge andforsev 
oral years the church was supplied by llev. John Ptoberts, by 
Kev. William Pierce of Steuben, and by John Koberts- and 
Rowland CIriffiths, licentiates, members of the church, but 
who were never ordained. Subsequently the following cler- 
<?ymen were pastors of the church for the periods stated, viz : 

Rev. Howell R. Powell, for one year. 

Kev. Benjamin Powell, for several years. 

Rev. Robert Everett, for about ten years. 

Rev. James G-riffiths, for about sixteen yea.rs. 

Rev. Evan Griffiths, the present pastor, eommenced his b' 
bors in 1849. The church is in a harmonious and flourish- 
ing condition, and has a large congregatioa. Its services 
have ever been conducted in the Welsh language. Present 
number of communicants about 300. 

Mr. John Hughes was a worthy member of this church, 
and although not an ordained preacher, it is said that he fre^ 
quently preached in the absence of a pastor. The following 
is copied from his tomb stone : 

'In memory of John Huglieis, a native of South Wales, who do- 
pavted this life, fc^eptemher 3d, A. D. 1831, Ae. 62. 

Mewn rhyfel bu'fe yma'n hir 
Yn colli ac yn cnnill tir ; 
Ond' nawr gorphenodd ar ei waith, 
Ac aeth yn deg i ben ei daith. 

fyvond [Broad Street) Baptist Church. — Oil the 23d of 
!^eptember, 1819, at a regular meeting of the First (Welsh) 
I-Japtist Church a vote was adopted that the church take into 
consideration until the next meeting, " the propriety ef giving 



■576 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

permission to all such as feel disposed to enter into covenant 
as a second church," etc. The reason given for this step wa.'?, 
the inconvenience under which many of the members suffer- 
ed, from tlie fact that a part of the services were in a lan- 
guage they could not understand. October 7, the church 
voted, that all who were disposed so to do, should have the 
approbation of the church in uniting to form the Second 
Church, and accordingly seventeen members, seven males and 
ten females, were dismissed for that purpo'se. (Of this number 
was Elder Hammond, who died August 20, 1820, aged sev- 
enty-nine years). David Reed and John Clrey were appoin- 
ted deacons. Within tlie same month the new church exten- 
ded a call to the Rev. Elijah F. Willey, of Lansingburgh, to 
become their pastor, which was accepted, and he commenced 
his labors on the second Ijord's-day in November, ISl'J. 
Elder Willey resigned his charge January 1, 1827. The fol- 
lowing is a list of the clergymen who have been pastors of 
the church, with the dates when they were called, and when 
they resigned their charge. 

■-Rev. John 0. Ilarrisou, called July 30, 1827, Re.signed Jutic 5, 182>^. 

■• William Hague, - Nov. 17, 1828, ■• Aug. 80, 1830, 

^- EionGalusha, •" Dec. 27, 1830, April 18, ISai. 

•' Edward Kingsford, •' Mch.31, 1834, '■ Dec. 31, li<:;.5. 

■ Thomas Wilkes, '^ May 80, 183G, '• ^lay 1, 1.'<C7. 

'■ Daniel Eldridge, " Aug. 1837, ' June. 1841. 

•• Dudley CHayne-s, " Oct. 4,1841, " Oct. 30,184.';. 

" Horatio N. Loring, '• Nov. 3,1844. Died Aug. 14, 1847. 

'• Edmund Turney, " July 9, 1848, Resigned Juue 2, 1!"W 

Rev. Thomas O. Lincoln, the present pastor was called to 
the charge of the church on the 4th of August, 1850, and 
having resigned his charge in Maiichester, N. H., he imme- 
tliately entered upon his labors here. 



xxiii.] iTTiCA. 577 

On the 2Cth of January, 1820, the church and society be- 
came incorporated under the statute by the name of " The 
Second Baptist Society of the village of Utica." David P. 
Iloyt and Edward Gilbert, presiding officers, and John Gray, 
David P. Hoyt, William Francis, David Reed and Edward 
Gilbert were elected trustees. On the 15th of February 
following, the trustees voted, "that this society immediately 
take the most efficient measures to procure a site in some 
c-entral place in the village of Utica, and build a handsome 
meeting-house, or house of public worship, sixty feet long 
iind forty feet wide." Consequently, a lot was purchased 
(the site of their present church edifice on Broad Street), 
and a house of worship erected during the spring and 
•summer of 1820. In 1826, the trustees were increased to 
iiiue, and the following persons constituted the board that 
year, viz. : Alexander M. Beebee, Thomas H. Whittemore, 
J). P. Hoyt. John Baxter, Benjamin Ballou, Wm. Francis, 
John E. Hinnian, Edward Bright, sen., and David Heed. 
In 1830, the house of worship was repaired and improved, by 
changing the pulpit from rear to front and constructing a 
gallery. June 21. 1847, the board of trustees, by a com- 
mittee, reported, that the time had "come when the church 
(lught to erect a new house of worship," and this was followed 
immediately by the action of the church, and, in August 
following, contracts were made for the erection of the present 
beautiful house on Broad Street. This house having been 
i-ompleted and entirely paid for, was dedicated September 
'M, 1848. Present number of communicants about 175. 

St. Jokn^s (Catholic) Church. — This church was organ- 
:'zed in 1819, and was the first Catholic cliurch formed in 
central or western New Yorlc, since the settlement of the 
country. Its first church edifice was of wood, and which 

37 



578 AN.VALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr. 

about ten or twelve years since, was removed across Bleecker 
kStreet, and the present large edifice erected iu its place. 
The late John C Devereus was the greatest benefactor of 
this church, having contributed over 8 12000 tovr'ards build- 
iii'r the brick house of worship. In connection with thi.s 
church is an orphan asylum under the management of sov 
oral Sisters of Charity, and adjoining there is a day schfiol 
for boys and girls. The church is the largest in the city. 
and on Sundays, and other days, when open for service, i.>< 
generally filled to overflowing. Many attend here from con- 
siderable distances in the surrounding country. 

First Metfiodist Ephcopul Church. — The Methodists 
have had religious services in Utica since 1808, and a con- 
gregation was constituted in that year, but no records have 
been found of a regular organization for many years subse- 
quently. The earliest written evidence upon the subject 
which the author has been able to discover, is the record of a 
(■quarterly meeting conference, held October 12, 1822, at the 
'' Utica Station," of which llev. George Peck was chairman, 
and Thomas Christian, secretary. Mr, Coodenough was ap- 
pointed steward in Slayton's Bush, Mr. Tisdale in Frank- 
fort, Reuben Mather in Schuyler, and Andrew Nash iii 
Utica. This society, by the name of '■ First Society of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church," was organized, under the 
statute, May 23, 1826, and Thomas Christian, James ('. 
Delong. Jacob Snyder, Erastus Cross and Trustham Dun- 
ham, elected trustees. Their present brick house of worship 
oa Bleecker Street, was erected in 182G, and dedicated Feb- 
ruary 22, 1827. The small brick chapel, previously occupied 
by this church, on the corner of Main and Third Streety^ 
was erected in 1816, but was abandoned on account of its. 
beia" too small for the congregation and its location so i\\x 



^xiii.] UTICA. '579 

from the centre of the village. The following clerg};meD; 
have been pastors of the church, nearly or quite in the order 
in which their names are given, and they have generally re- 
mained two years each, viz. : Rev. Messrs. Beujaraiu Pad- 
dock, George Harmon, Zechariah Paddocli, E. Bowen, Mr. 
Stone, Z. Paddock, Dan Barnes, Joseph Castle, AVilliam 
N. Peai-ne, Schuyler Hoes, Bostwick Hawley, D. W. Bristol, 
David A. Shepard, Horatio Pi,. Clark. Rev. William Wyatt, 
the present pastor, took charge of the church in August, 
1849. The society is in a prosperous condition, and its house 
is well filled. Present number of communicants about 330. 

I'mvermlist Society — The First Universalist Society of 
I-itica was organized November 21, 1825, under the ministry 
of the Rev. John S. Thompson. Messrs. Andrew S. Pond, 
Daniel James, John R. Ludlow. John Hickox and Rosweli 
Woodruff, were elected first trustees; John R. Ludlow, 
treasurer ; John King, clerk. Ezra S. Barnum and William 
Stevens were elected deacons. A number of years after- 
wards, it was discovered that there had been some informality 
in the early proceedings, and accordingly a re-org:iiiiization 
was legally effected July 10, 1837, Messrs. Woodiaau Kim- 
ball, Thomas L. Kingsley, Joseph P. Newland, Orrin Mar- 
.shall, Alvin White, Benjamin F. Jcwett and Orrin Hutchin- 
son, were elected trustees. The church erected by the 
Universalists on Devereux Street, was dedicated March 18, 
1830, and remained in their possession until March 28, 
1845, when it was sold under the foreclosure of a mortgage 
From that time, the society ceased to act. The pastors were 
Kev. Dolphas Skinner, from 1827 to 1837 ; followed by Rev. 
Messrs. A. B. Grosh, M. B. Smith, T. D. Cook, W. Andrews 
and H. B. Soule. 

The Universalists again eommenced regukr worship iii 



580 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAf. 

Mechanics' Hall, October 1, 1848. " The Central Universal- 
ist Society of Utica, N. Y.," was organized April 23, 1849. 
Messrs. Ezra S. Barnum, Grove Penny, Benjamin F. Jcwett, 
David Owens, Alvin White, D. V. W. Golden and L. M. 
Taylor, arc the present trustees. Rev. Eben Francis, the 
present pastor, commenced his labors in October, 1818. In 
the present summer (1851), the society are engaged in the 
erection of a substantial church edifice of stone, in the Gothic 
style of architecture, covering an area 45 by 75 feet, with 
towers of the same material, projecting from the front corners, 
carried to the heighth of about sixty feet. This buikling 
stands upon Seneca Street, near Columbia Street, frontinir 
Genesee Street, and will be an ornament to the city, and 
highly creditable to the taste and spirit of the society. Thi^ 
corner-stone was laid on the 15th of July, and a box depo.s- 
ited within it, containing- many interesting relics. Rev. E. 
II. Chapin, of New York, delivered an address upon the 
occasion. 

Welsh Calvinistic Metliodist Church. — This church wa^' 
organized Februar^^ 21, 1830, by ten persons of this denomi- 
nation from Wales. The author has bocn unable to find any 
records of this church, or to learn much of its history. Uptm 
its formation, Robert I. Jones, Evan Roberts and Richard 
Hughes, were chosen elders. Rev. Benjamin Davis became 
pastor in 1830, and remained five or six years, and was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. William Williams, who remained .several 
years. Rev. David Stevens was the next pastor, and re- 
mained from one to two years, and was succeeded by Rev. 
Morris Davis, then just arrived from. Wales, but who was 
removed by death in a short time. Rev. Morris Roberts 
and Rev. William Rowlands have also been pastors. Rev. 
Messrs. Enoch Samuel and David Lewis are the present 



X.MIi.] UTICA. 581 

preachers. In 1830, the society erected a brick chapel on 
■Seneca Street, which was much enlarged in 1846, and is no\Y 
a large and convenient house. The church numbers about 
100 communicants. The Calvinistic (sometimes called Whit- 
field) Methodists are the followers of Calvin, with respect to 
the points of doctrine which distinguish his disciples from 
those of Arminius and Wesley. 

llcfurmcd Dutch Clairdi.-—'- The Reformed Dutch Church 
of Utica" was organized October 26, 1830, with forty mem- 
bers. Its first officers were Abraham Varick and Greorge M. 
"Weaver, jr., elders; and Nicholas (1. Weaver and Kichard 
A'aughan, deacons. When this information was obtained in 
1349. its officers were Greorge M. Weaver, Justus H. Rath- 
boiic, Eufus Northway and Thomas H. Wood, elders; and 
William Waicott, Thomas E. Clarke, N. F. Vedder and 
William J. Bacon, deacons. In 1830, its house of worship 
on the corner of Broad and John Streets, was erected at a 
cost of about ^ 15000. The Rev. George W. Bcthunc was 
the first pastor, and commenced his labors November 7, 1830. 
The Rev. Henry Mandeville commenced August 17, 1834. 
and resigned his charge for a professorship in Hamilton 
College, and Rev. John P. Knox became his successor, July 
5, 1841. Rev. Charles Wiley, the present pastor, entered 
upon the duties of his office, June 15, 1845. The house of 
worship of this church is a neat and commodious structure, 
with no attempt at ornament or show on the outside, biit its 
interior is one of the most pleasant in the city. The chui-cli 
and society have ever included their full share of the intelli- 
gence and moral worth of the community, and have demanded 
in their pastors the most respectable talents and rank in 
their profession, and while they have exerted a conservative 
influence over others, they have been preserved from fanat- 



582 ANNALS OF ONEIDA CODTfTT. [cHAP 

icisra and instability on the one hand, and their opposites. 
anti-nomianism and inactivity, on the other. Present num- 
ber of communicants about 225. 

Ebcncze)- Baptist Church. — "The ' Ebenezer Baptist 
<>hurch of the city ' was organized in the school room, then 
their place of meeting, No. 10 Fayette Street, on the lOth 
day of January, 1835, with seven members, five males and 
two females. Joseph Goodliff was chosen deacon, and Wil- 
liam Towers, clerk. Thomas Hill, one of the little band. 
v;as unanimousl}' chosen pastor, and was accordingly ordained. 
May 11, 1835, to fill that office, in which he remains to this 
day. In 1836, they built the house in which they now meet, 
on the south side of Columbia, between Broadway and Cor- 
nelia Street." This church belongs to that class known as 
'• Anti-mission Baptist Churches," as they do not fellowship 
or co-operate v-.'ith Missionary, Bible, Tract, Sunday School. 
or Education Societies. With respect to baptism and coin- 
munion, they agree with the other Baptist churches in the 
city, and are " High Calvinists," as that term is generally 
understood, believing in "special election," " particular atone- 
ment," "' total depravity." " perseverance of saints," etc. 

Blcccher Street Baj^itist Church. — On the 3d of December. 
1837, the Broad Street Baptist Church adopted resolution;- 
approving an effort to sustain preaching in West Utica, upon 
the ground then recently given up by the Third Presbyterian 
Church (the Third Church was dedicated January 10. 1833). 
and appointing Deacon Asa Sheldon, A. M. Beebee, Palmer 
Towneend and Edward Bright, jr., a committee (in connec- 
tion with Francis Wright. Deacon Harlow Hawley and Alfred 
Corban, not members of the church), to raise funds for that 
object, and superintend the interests connected therewith, un- 



XXIII.] UTIOA. 5co 

til the 1st of May then next. Meetings were comrQenecd in 
the building known as '• Old Bethel," on the corner of 
Fayette and Varick Streets, and such clergymen as could b^ 
procured, were employed from week to week. In January 
following (1838), a protracted meeting was commenced ut 
that place, and the indications and interest were so favor- 
able, that shortly afterwards Elder Jacob Knapp, the distin- 
guished revival preacher, was procured to conduct the mei't- 
ings. Such was the progress of the work, that in a few days the 
'• Old Bethel" would scarcely hold one in ten of those who came, 
and an invitation to occupy the church then known as the 
Second Presbyterian Church on Bleecker Street (now occu- 
pied by this church) was accepted, and the latter house wa.s 
hoon filled to overflowing. That was a time never to be for- 
gotten by those who then resided in Utica. Religion, the 
meetings and the progress of the revival, engrossed the tim«\ 
the thoughts and conversation of the mass of the population. 
and all classes, ages and conditions, came under their influ- 
ences. Such was the crowd at the Second Church, that the 
First Presbyterian Church kindly opened the doors of tluir 
house, and, for some time, that house was equally as well and 
uiicomfortably filled, while hundreds were una)3le to gain an 
admission even there. The meetings were brought to a close 
about the middle of March, and the number of those hope- 
fully converted was estimated by some as high as eight hun- 
dred, and by others at a tliousand. 

On the 21st of March, 1838, a meeting was held at the 
dwelling of Edward Bright, jr., of which Deacon Asa Shel- 
don was chosen chairman, and Horace H. Hawley, secretary. 
Eleven persons (five males and six females) presented letter.s 
of dismission from Baptist churches — (seven from the Broad 
Street and four from the Trenton Village Churches) — ;all of 
which were approved as regular. This meeting voted , 



584 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

'• That we form ourselves into a church by the name of tho 
Bethel (Baptist) Church pf Utica." Asa Sheldon and Pal- 
mer Townscnd were chosen deacons, and H. H. Hawley. 
church clerk, and Messrs. Townsend and Bright were ap- 
pointed a committee " to prepare a code of Articles of Faith 
and Practice, and report at the next meeting." 

In the first year the church received 125 members, eighty 
by baptism, forty two by letter, and three by experience. 
July 2G, 1838, the church was recognized as a regular church 
in fellowship with the Baptist denomination, by a council of 
delegates from other churches in the vicinity. August 8th. 
the church and society were incorporated under the statute, 
and Messrs. Edward Bright, jr., John Heed, Palmer Town- 
send, Morven M. Jones, Francis Tv^right, Mancer M. Backus, 
and Elihu Stone elected trustees. In 1839, the church erect- 
ed the house of worship on State Street, (dedicated Aug. 7). 
now owned by the Methodist Episcopal Church, at an expense 
of over 8 i,000, for a large proportion of which, they were in- 
debted to the liberality and good will of persons belonging to 
other societies. Upon the removal of Deacon Townsend to 
New York, Harlow Hawley was chosen deacon, July 6, 183S. 
For several years this church was the station of the American 
Bethel Society, and a committee of its members, during the 
season of navigation, visited the boats lying in the city on 
every Lord's day morning, and invited boatmen and passen- 
gers to attend the meetings. For two or three years it was 
also aided in its funds by the New York State Baptist Mis- 
sionary Convention. On the 1st of January, 1845, the church 
removed to its present house on Bleecker Street, having ta- 
ken a lease of the former lessees, and in Feb., 1847, the 
church pui'ohased this house of Mrs. Dudley of Albany. 
Since then the house has been very much improved and re- 
paired inside and out, and by the erection of a spire in place 



xxm.] UTiCA. 585 

of the one blown off in the fall of 1834. This house \va3 
erected by the Second Presbytei'ian Church, and dedicated 
August 24, 1826, and by that body occupied until about 1839, 
and subsequently it was occupied by a Congregational 
church under the care of llev. Messrs. Theodore Spencer and 
i\ Edwards Lester, and afterwards by the Westminster 
Cliurch, and for a time was unoccupied. The church under 
DOtioe have enjoyed several revivals, the results of protracted 
lueetings. Since its formation about 378 have been added 
by baptism, and the largest number of baptisms reported 
(since its first year), were in 1847, fifty-seven, and 1848. 
eighty-four. Present number about 350. The venerable 
Deacon Asa Sheldon, died March 19, 1848, in the 88th year 
of hi.s age, having been a member of the Baptist Church sev- 
enty-four years. 

In the spring and summer of 1838, Mr. Coroden H. Slaf- 
ter, a member of the Hamilton Theological Institution, preach- 
ed to this church, and on the 23d of August he was ordained 
])y this church as a iiiissionary to Siam, where he died April 
7, 184]. October 1, 1838, Eev. L. 0. Lovell became pastor 
and resigned his charge January 27, 1840. On the 6th of 
December, 1839, Mr. Edward Bright, jr. (then of the firm of 
Bennett & Bright, booksellers and publishers), was licensed 
by this church to preach the gospel, and on the 17th of April 
following received a call to become pastor of the church, and 
was ordained as such on the 3d of June. On the 12th of 
November, 1841, Rev. Mr. Bright resigned his charge, and 
on the 14th of the same month Rev. Daniel G. Corey, the 
present pastor, received a call to the ofiice, and entered upon 
its duties the first Lord's day in January, 1842. During 
his pastorate, thus far, he has baptised 236, and 144 have 
been added by letter. 

(The Second Presbyterian Church was organized May 6, 



586 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

1824. under the pastoral care of Rev. S. W. Brace, and 
erected the house of worship, as before stated, on Bleeckcr 
*Street, in 1826. On the 7th of March, 1831, this church 
and society were reorganized under the name of the 
'■ Bleecker Street Presbyterian Society." After Mr. Brace, 
Rev. Dirck C. Lansing, D. D., was pastor for several year."?, 
and Rev. Mr. Savage was pastor in 1837-8. The church 
being largely in debt, the house of worship was sold at some 
time not far from the re-organization, and became the prop- 
erty of Mrs. Blandina Dudley of Albany, and six individ- 
uals in the church took a lease of the house for twenty years 
and became responsible for the rent, etc.) 

Grace {Ejnscopal) CJinrch. — This church was organized in 
May, 183S. At the time of its institution there were but 
twenty-six persons in the congregation of a sufficient age ti) 
read the services of the church, and a much smaller number 
uf communicants. 

First Vestrj^ : Dr. P. B. Peckham and Ziba Lyon, war- 
dens ; Messrs. Samuel Beardsley, John E. Hinman, J. Wat- 
son Williams, James M. Stocking, Alex. S. Johnson. 
Charles S. Wilson, Isaiah Tiffany and James M. Lewis. 
Rev. Albert Clark Patterson was chosen the first rector. 
Soon after its organization, the church took measures for the 
erection of the small church edifice of wood upon the south- 
east corner of Broadway and Columbia Street, and in I84:i. 
a considerable addition was made to this building. The 
(Iiurch is now preparing to erect one of the most expensive 
and beautifal church edifices in central New York, one whicli 
^hall in architectural design and execution, and in the quality 
i>f material, be an honor to the city and to the enterprising 
s^ociety by which it is erected. From the period of its organ- 
isation, this church has s-lvvavs been in. a mo,yt flourighing 



3fxui.] xrricA. , 587 

eonditioQ, with frequent accessions to its members and an 
increasing congregation. 

Rev. George Leeds, the present rector, entered upon the 
duties of his ofiee iu 1843. 

Number of communicants reported iu 1842, 96; in 1846. 
132; iu 1850, 157. 

St. Patd's (E2yiscopal) Church. — llev. Marcus A. Perrv, 
rector, was organized several years since in West Utiea, and 
occupies the building known as " Old Bethel," on Fayette 
Street. Number of communicants reported in 1850, 18. 
This church designs soon to erect a house of worship in the 
west part of the city. 

Calvary {Episcopal) Clmrch. — This is a newly organized 
church upon " Corn Hill," and is under the care of Rev. 
Wm. A. Matson. This church is erecting during the present 
summer (1851) a small church edifice of wood, in that section 
of the city. 

St. Joseph's {German) Colholic Church. — This church 
was organized October 15, 1840, and is located upon Fayette 
Street, at its junction with Whitesboro Street. When 
formed, the church included about sixty families, and now 
numbers about 200 families, all natives of the German States, 
aud its services are conducted in the German language. 
I. N. Lanzer, Joseph Masseth, sen., John Paul, Ignatius 
Meyers and Matthias Fritz, composed the first committee, 
having charge of the property. Rev. Joseph Prost became 
rector in 1842, and remained one year; Rev. Adelpert ]ii- 
nama became his successor in the summer of 1 843, and he 
was succeeded by Ptev. Florian Schwenninger in August. 
1844. 



588 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

German Lutheran Church. — This church by the name of 
" The United Evangelical Lutheran and Grerman Reformed 
Congregation of the City of Utica," was organized on the 
Ijth of May, 1842, at its place of meeting, the" Old Bethel," 
on Fayette Street, West Utica. It was formed with fifty-six 
communicants, all natives of Germany, and its services have 
^'ver been conducted in the German language. Its first ofii- 
oers were, Charles A. Wolf, son., and Michael Breitenstein, 
elders ; and John M. Hahn, Daniel Becker and John G. 
lloerlein, trustees. Present officers (1851), Henry Frank- 
furt. John Seng and George Neeger, elders ; and Daniel 
Becker, Paul Ague, John Beislegel, Lewis Martin, John 
IHaas and John Spindler, jr., trustees. Their first house of 
wor.sliip was erected upon the south side of Columbia Street, 
upon the eastern side of the site of St. Patrick's Church, at 
a cost of about $2000, and was dedicated September 2^^. 
1S44, and, with other buildings, was destroyed by the hand 
of tlie incendiary, on the night of the 28th of February, 
1351. The church, during the present season, is erecting a 
commodious house of worship of brick, upon the south-west 
corner of Cooper and Fay Streets, at an estimated expense 
of about §4000. The present pastor, Bev. A. Wetzel, has 
devoted liis time and talents to the welfare of this church 
ever since its formation, and he enjoys, in an eminent degree, 
the love and respect of the pastors and members of the other 
evangelical churches in the city, as well as of the citizens 
generally. During a considerable portion of the time, he has 
taught a day school for the benefit of the children of the 
members of his society, and a flourishing Sunday school is 
(connected with the church. Amid the many discourage- 
ments arising from the loss of the house of worship, the pov- 
erty of most of the German emigrants, and the fact that our 
German population is gathered from nearly every state in 



XXIII.] UTICA. 5S9 

the Germanic coufederacy, with their peculiar national and 
local views and prejudices, he has ever labored on zealousl}-, 
peacefully and successfully, in the humble sphere of his vo- 
cation, although his talents and acquirements would well 
grace some of the higher positions in our country. Cherish- 
ing such views of the pastor, the citizens of Utica have, to a 
limited extent, contributed to the funds of the church, for 
building their houses of worship. Present number of com- 
municants, 165. 

Westminster Trcsbytcrian Church. — At the time of the 
dissolution of the Second Presbyterian Church, it was evi- 
dent, that there was in the city sufficient material^ in a dis- 
connected state, to form an efficient Presbyterian Churcli. 
On the 25th of January, 1839, a Congregational Church 
was organized, and held its meetings, for a period, in the 
" Second Church," on Bleeeker Street, and for a while in the 
Museum Building, the Museum having been removed to the 
"Exchange Building;" but for reasons unknown to the 
author, this church was dissolved. On the 6th of May, 1S44. 
•' The Westminster Presbyterian Society of Utica " became 
incorporated, at a meeting held in the old " Second Church." 
wliich house they occupied the remainder of that year. Oxi 
the 23d of July, the church was organized with 70 members. 
On the 1st of January, 1845. the church purchased, and took 
possession of the house of worship erected by the Universal- 
ists on Devcreux Street, which was subsequently enlarged by 
an addition to the rear, and otherwise much repaired and 
beautrfied. This house Avas erected in 1829-30. Messrs. 
Sylvester Aylsworth, Theodore Pomeroy, Silas Gaylord, S. 
Z. Haven and Hugh Rendell, were chosen elders, upon 
the formation of the church. Rev. Joshua H. Mcllvane, 
the first pastor, was installed February 5, 1845, by thePres- 



500 ANNALS 07 ONEIDA COUKTY. [cilA? 

liytery of Albany, and resigned his charge October 1, 1847 
Rev. Hugh Dickson, the present pastor, entered upon ilm 
duties of his office, August 1, 1843 (installed October 31. 
sermon by Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Albany), and under his min- 
istry, the church has been highly prosperous, aad the congre- 
gation has increased to such an extent that the house is fre- 
quently crowded. This church is in connection with the 
'■ Old School " General Assembly. Present number of com- 
municants about 125. 

Stafe Stmt Methodist Church. — The '• Bethel " BaptLst 
Church having found it very diSicult to sustain a church ot 
that denomination in West Utica, while they were compelled 
to make up a considerable deficiency at the end of each year, 
and more of its members residing eavSt of Genesee Street than 
in the section of their location, decided upon reiiioving to 
lileeeker Street, about 1st of January, 1845. For a consid- 
erable part of the next year and a half, their house of wor- 
fihip on State Street, was occupied by an Anti-slavery Baptist 
Society, under the care of Rev. Mr. Grosvenor. On the 1st 
of August, 1847, the State Street Methodist Episcopal 
Church was organized, with seventeen communicants, and 
soon afterwards purchased this church edi.fice. The first 
trustees were, Frederick Humphreys, H. C. Stearns, J. S. 
Kirk, Wm. Roberts and Mordecai Wing ; and Moses Sipher. 
II. C. Stearns and Thomas Ward, sen., were Urst stewards. 
[lev. Joseph Hartwell was assigned by the Conference to 
this church, on the 4th of August, 1847, and remained two 
years, and Rev. Isaac Foster, the present pastor, commenced 
his labors in August, 1849. Present number of communi- 
cants about 130. 

This church is in a flourishing condition, and under th« 
peculiar organisation of the Methodist Chiareh, will, doubt- 



xxni.] tTTicA. 59-1 

less, continue to prosper. The erection of fehree extensive^ 
maaufacturiug establishments, and the great increase in other 
branches of business in West Utica, with the large increasfi 
of population, have rendered this field an excellent one for 
an additional evangelical church. 

Israel if es. — ■'• Beth Israel," Jews' Synagogue, was estab- 
lished on the 1st of October, 1843, and included about twentv 
families. Its first trustees were Harris A. Hersbficld, Max 
Levy and Eleazer Hart. This association fitted up and oc- 
cupies the small wooden house of worship, near the corner of 
Whitesboro and Hotel Streets, and every " seventh day," a 
considerable number of these descendants of Abraham repair 
to their "Beth,'' to worship the God of their fathers, after 
the manner of the law delivered to Moses. Most of thi.s 
people in this city are from the German States and Poland, 
whence they have lied to this country, to enjoy the right of 
worshipping God according to their own law, and to escape 
the exactions of the tyrants who rule their native lands. 
Kabbi Pinkus Eosentoli leads them in their worship, and 
tlu'V now number about forty families. 

Ml'hh Methodist Ejnscopal Church. — The Welsh Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church was formed about the 1st of Septem- 
l>er, 1849, with twenty-seven members, and for the first eight 
months occupied a room on Liberty Street. Its first officers 
were, J ohn Perry, Thomas Morris, John H. Jones, William 
AV. Jones, Evan E. Jones, and Thomas Hughes, trustees ; 
John Perry, steward ; and Wm. Davies, secretary. On thn 
1st of May, 1850, the church purchased the building on 
Wa'^hington Street, known as the " Commercial Lyceum,"' 
and iiaye fitted up and since occupied the same as a house of 
worship. The Iley. Messrs. Rees Davies and Thomas 



592 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Hughes wefe preachers of the church until May 1, 1850, and 
since then Messrs. Davies and Hughes and Rev. John Jones 
have had the joint charge of the church. Present number 
of communicants about fifty. The services are conducted in 
the Welsh language. 

There have been, within a few years, two other Welsh 
churches in the city, one an ofF-shoot from the Welsh Con- 
gregational Church, which erected the house now occupied by 
the Jews, and the other from the Welsh Baptist Chiirch, and 
held its meetings on the corner of Broadway and Pearl Street. 
Happily, however, the difficulties in which these churches 
originated, have been healed, and upon their dissolution, 
most of their members returned to the old folds, and the t\\<< 
pai'ent churches are progressing in harmony. 

St. Patrick's Catholic Ch'urch. — This church was organ- 
ized on St. Patrick's day, March 17, 18.50, and is located in 
West Utica. *A temporary church edifice was erected on 
Columbia, west of Varick Street, for the accommodation of 
the congregation until their new house shall be completed. 
The congregation is coniposed mainly of natives of Ireland. 
An elegant cliurch is in course of erection, upon the corner 
of Columbia and Huntington Streets. Its material is brick 
above the basement, its style of architecture Gothic, and is to 
cover an area 64 by 120 feet, with a tower and spire ISO feet 
in heighth. The Rev. Patrick Carraher is pastor, and it is 
mainly through his exertions that a congregation has been 
collected, and the funds secured for the erection of the church. 
The ceremony of laying the corner-stone of this church took 
place on the evening of July 30, 1851, the lit. Rev. Dr. 
McClosky officiating. A box was deposited containing a 
variety of coins, the names of the executive of the state and 



xxm.] tJTicA. 593 

city, bishop of the diocese, pastor of the church, and a variety 
of newspapers, etc. 



INSTITUTIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, COMPANIES, ETC., ETC. 

New York State Lu7iatic Asylum. — This institution al- 
though located partly in Whitestown and pai-tly in New 
Hartford, is more generally considered in connection with 
the city of Utica, and the account giVen seems therefore more 
appropriately placed in this chapter. 

In 1830, acting Governor Throop, in his annual message, 
called the attention of the Legislature to the number, condi- 
tion and wants of the insane poor in this State, and sugges- 
ted the establishment of an asylum for their " gratuitous care 
and recovery." He states that by the census of 1825, there 
were then 819 insail6 persons in the State, of whom 263 pos- 
sessed means for their own support, 280 were in jail or sup- 
ported by charity, and 348 insane paupers were at large, '• a 
terror to others, and suffering in addition to mental derange- 
ment, all the privations attending penury and want." In 
the Assembly this subject was referred tO a select committee, 
who on the 17th of April reported " that the general expedi- 
ency, and indeed necessity of another Asylum seem manifest 
from a bare examination oi the facts." This brought the 
subject before the public, ^nd another committee was ap- 
pointed, of which rioH. A. tl. Paige was chairman, and by 
whom extensive exaiuinations with reference to the insane 
and lunatic asylunlls were made, and an elaborate report 
presented in March, 1831. In each of the years 1832-3-4-5, 
committees Were appointed, who reported in favor of Legis- 
lative action, upon the subject, but no laws were then enact- 
ed. In 1834, Gov. Marcy in his message made a powerful. 

38 



SOi ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

appeal to the Legislature upon the same subject. In 1836^ 
the Oneida County. Medical Society, by its delegate Dr. J. 
McCall, brought the subject before the State Society, by whom 
a memorial was sent 4o the Legislature ; and also made a di- 
rect communication to the Legislature by a petition drawn up 
by Dr. C. B. Coventry. 

March 30', 1836, an act was passed for the establishment 
of the New York State Lunatic Asylum, which authorized 
the appointment of three commissioners to purchase a site at 
an expense not exceeding 8 10,000, and also for the appoint- 
ment of three commissioners to contract for the erection of 
the Asylum, and appropriated $50,000, for that purpose. 

Messrs. N. Dayton, C McVcan and E. Withers, the com- 
missioners appointed by the government to procure a site, re- 
ported to the Legislature, in February, 1838, that they had 
not been able to select and secure one, although they had bar- 
gained for the necessary grounds at Watervliet, but which 
the owner had finally refused to sell upon the terms agreed 
upon. In the summer of 1837, the present site of the Asy- 
lum was purchased, including a farm of about 130 acres, for 
$16,300, of which the state paid ^10,000, and citizens of 
Utica §(6,300. In the latter part of the same summer Capt 
William Clarke of Utica, Francis E. Spinncv of Herkimer 
and Elam Lynds were appointed commissioners to superin- 
tend the erection of the necessary baildings. After visitinir 
various institutions of the kind, the plans drawn by Captain 
Clarke, after being submitted to most of the state ofi&cers 
and the legislative commitSes, were adopted, the four maiii 
buildings commenced, and at the close of 1838, $46,881,79 
of the appropriation expended. That plan " consisted of four 
buildings, the size of the present front building, each 550 
feet long, to be located at right angles, facing outward, and 
io be coanected at the angles by verandahs of open lattice 



xxiii.] UTicA. 595' 

work, the whole inclosing an octagonal area, of aVove thirteen 
acres, not including above two and a half acres covered by 
the buildings. The estimated expense if built of brick, was 
$431,636, but no estimate of the expense of hammered stone 
of which the main building was finally constructed was then 
given." In May, 1839, $75,000, were appropriated towards 
completing " the main building occupying the principal front, 
and for protecting the foundations then laid of the other buil- 
dings, and in 1840, ^75,000, and in 1841, $75,000, were ap- 
propriated by the Legislature for completing the main edifice, 
making $285,000, including the $10,000 for purchase of site. 
On the 6th of January, 1842, the commissioners reported 
that nothing remained to be done to put the institution in op- 
eration, but the laws necessary for its organization, and an 
appropriation for furnishing the building. During the erec- 
tion of the building, Messrs. Lynds and Spinner had been 
removed, and Messrs. W. H. Shearman and Anson Dart ap- 
pointed, and subsequently Messrs. Clarke and Dart were re- 
placed by Messrs. James Piatt and Theodore S. Faxton. 

In May, 1S41, Messrs. David Russell, "W. H. Shearman, 
N. Devereus, Dr. C. B. Coventry and T. S. Faxton, were by 
rict of Legislature, appointed trustec-s of the Asylum, and 
were required to report a system for the government, disci- 
pline and management of the institution, and regulations for 
admission of patients. They, by a committee, visited four- 
teen of the twenty similar institutions in the United States, 
and January 12, 1842, reported a system which was mainly 
adopted. April 7, 1842, an act to organize the Asylum was 
passed, and by which Nicholas Devereux, Jacob Sutherland, 
vharles A. Mann, Alfred Munson, Charles B. Coventry, 
Abraham V. Williams, Thomas H. Hubbard, T. Romeyn 
Beck and David Buel were appointed managers. By this 
;.ct $25 000; were granted for purchasing furniture, fixtures, 



596 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIUP, 

stock, books* food, fuel, medicines and enclosing and impro- 
ving the grounds — and in 1843,816,000 were appropriated 
for a drain extending to the river, supplying the building 
■with water and various improvements to the building, etc. 

The managers organized as a board in April, 1842, and on 
the 9th of September following, appointed Dr. Amariah 
Brigham, superintendent ; H. A. Buttolph, M. D., assistant 
physician ; E. A. AVetmore, Esq., treasurer ; Cyrus Chat- 
field, steward, and Mrs. Chatfield. matron. On the 16th of 
January, 1843, the asylum was opened for the reception of 
patients, and during the first year 276 were admitted. 

It was soon discovered that the building erected would 
soon be entirely inadequate for the wants of the insane poor 
of the state, and accordingly in 1844, the managers submitted 
to the Legislature a plan for enlarging the Asylum, advising 
the abandonment of the original plan of four buildings, and 
the erection instead of two wings of brick at right-angles with 
the main building, each 240 feet long and thirty-eight feet 
wide, at an estimated expense of 880,000. For this purpose 
860,000, were granted by the legislature in 1844, besides 
$4,000 for the purchase of grounds adjoining and in front of 
the Asylum, making the entire farm and grounds 133 acres, 
and for additional furniture and fencing; and in 1836, 
8 17,000 were appropriated for completing the wings, 815.000 
lor furniture, furnaces, fixtures, etc., 85,000 for bringing a 
supply of water into the buildings, aijd 83.000 for various other 
purposes. The water is supplied at the rate of about thirty 
gallons per minute, is forced by pumps, propelled by water 
about half a mile and raised 95 feet into a reservoir in the 
attic of the rear building, from whence it is distributed to 
every part of the establishment. 

Since this institution went into operation it has fully an- 
swered the expectations of the public, and earned for itself an 



XXIII.] UTicA. 597 

honorable rank among institutions of the kind in the United 
States — and so long as it holds its present position it will be 
an object of special interest to all who feel a kind wish or 
possess the least sympathy for the most unfortunate of their 
fellows. From her liberal benefactions, although none too 
much so, when the number and claims of the insane within 
her limits are considered, the Empire State had a right to ex- 
pect something worthy of her position in population, enter- 
prise and wealth. The managers of the Asylum have been 
men of liberal and enlarged views, and their measures and 
policy have been humane, energetic and discreet. The former 
und present superintendent, upon whom the management, 
care and responsibility of this great institution mainly rest, 
have been men eminent in their profession, and their annual 
reports show the great success which has resulted from their 
wisdom and skill. 

On the 8th of September, 1849, Dr. Brighamwas removed 
by death, and on the third day of November following. Dr. 
Nathan D. Benedict, of Blockley Hospital, Philadelphia, was 
appointed superintendent, and entered upon the duties of the 
office on the 8th of December. Dr. George Cook, first assis- 
tant physician, was the acting superintendent from the death 
of Dr. Brigham, until the arrival of Dr. Benedict. The 
managers in their next report to the Legislature, thus speak 
of Dr. Brigham : " He applied himself to the task with un- 
tiring and unyielding devotion. He performed labors, and 
surmounted difficulties of which the public knew but little, 
but which might well have disheartened a less determined 
man." 

The annual report to the Legislature embodies the reports 
of the superintendent, treasurer, etc., and these contain a 
large amount of valuable and interesting general information 
and statistics relating to the institution and the insane. From 



598 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the report dated February 25th, 1851, the following statis- 
tics are copied, but the limits of the author forbid his giving 
many of the interesting and curious details it contains : 



Patients remaining at close of last 

year, 

Admitted during year, 

Total during year. 
Of this number there were discharg- 
ed within the year, recovered, - 
Much improved. 

Improved .... 
Unimproved, .... 
Died, 

Total, - - • - 

Remaining, .... 202 227 420 

Of the 171 discharged cured, 124 had been insane less 
than one year, and twenty-one for one year, nine for two 
years, seven for three years, two for each four and five years, 
one for six years, and in five cases the period of insanity had 
not been ascertained. Of the fifty-one deaths, thirteen were 
from dysentery, twelve from chronic mania, one by suicide, 
and twenty-five were from fifteen other forms of disease. 
The 816 patients were classified under fifteen forms of de- 
rangement, besides eight cases of "feigned insanity."' Of 
these 816 cases, 378 had been insane less than a year when 
admitted, 277 from one to five years, eight^^-four from six to 
ten years, forty-four from eleven to twenty years, twenty-ono 



lALES. 


-- FEMALES. 


TOTAL. 


226 


223 


449 


185 


182. 


367 


411 


405 


S16 


94 


77 


171 


4 


4 


8 


26 


23 


49 


51 


57 


108 


34 


17 


51 


209 


178 


387 



xxiii.] vTicA. 590 

from twentj-one to sixty-fivt years, £cd in twelve eases the 
period was unknown. 

From January 16, 1843, to December 1, 

1850, total number admitted, - - ■'2,743 

.Discharged, recovered, - - - 1,188 

" improved, - - - 468 

" unimproved, - - - 338 

Died, 320 

2.314 



Remaining 429 

When it is considered that allof this number were laboring 
under disease, frequently in its most complicated form, added 
to the difficulty of treating insane patients and of reaching 
mental maladies, the wonder is that so small a proportion 
should liave terminated fatally. Of the whole number 1,622 
have been supported by counties or towns in this State, 1,121 
by friends. From Oneida County 287 have been admitted, 
of whom 154 have been a public charge, and 133 supported 
by friends. The report shows that those counties O'carest 
the Asylum send the largest number in proportion to their 
population. Madison has sent 102, Chenango 87, Jefferson 
94, Herkimer 79, Erie 55, St. Lawrence 46, Dutchess 33, 
Delaware 21. Of the whole number 582 have been admitted 
in winter, 693 in spring, 735 in summer, and 733 in autumn. 
As to age when admitted 9 were under 15 years, 300 from 
15 to 20, 953 from 20 to 3.0, 706 from 30 to 40, 451 from 40 
to 50, 213 from 50 to 00, 101 from 60 to 70, 7 from 70 to 
80, and 3 over 80. By occupation 581 were farmers, 179 la- 
borers, 71 merchants, 65 scholars, 47 joiners, 42 clerks, 16 
clergymen, 24 lawyers, 20 physicians, 19 teachers, 36 shoe 
makers, 30 blacksmiths, 4 school boys, 1167 were women en- 



50(? ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

gaged ia '• house work," 52 school girls, 35 tailoresses, 32 in- 
structresses, 28 milliners, 21 mantua makers, 10 factory girls, 
and two each music teachers and seamstresses. The remain- 
der are classified as belonging to G2 diflferent occupations, 
with from one to eighteen individuals to each. Among the 
various " probable causes " of insanity, the following are se- 
lected : 111 health, 448 cases ; religious anxiety, 205 : los.-^ 
of property, 97 ; puerperal, 115; intemperance, 110: disap- 
pointment in love, 65 (39 males and 26 females!), Millerism. 
43 ; perfectionism, license question, Fourierism, preaching six- 
teen days and nights, mesmerism, visiting, smoking, anti-rent- 
ism, Rechabiteism, Mormonism, and study of phrenology each 
one, unknown 804. For the remainder, seventy-one causes 
of insanity are given, and from this it would seem that excess 
in any thing, will turn the brain and upset the mind. Of 
the insane, a considerable share possess a strong propensity to 
suicide. Of the 8 16 in the institution within the year, sixty-six 
(twenty -two males and forty -four females) were of this class. 
The constant and sleepless Avatchfulness, the anxiety, the labor 
and care with respect to these, Dr. Benedict in this report 
Bays : " form a burden which they alone know who bear it, 
increased by the necessity of carrying at all times, amid sur- 
rounding sadness, a cheerful countenance over a heavy heart." 
The following is copied from this report because it shows sin- 
gular phenomena with respect to this most unfortunate class ; 
'• The successful attempt at self destructioa, before reported'' 
(included in the 51 deaths) " was made on the 12th of July, 
(1850), by a female patient of our most intelligent class. 
Her melancholy end became known to her eompanions with 
whom she was a favorite, and on the following day two other 
patients on the same hall were over-heard devising a plau 
for their own death. About this time the suicidal propensity 
prevailed extensively, and seemed to be epidemic. There 



XXXI]. j UTICA. 601 

were admitted during the month of July, the large number 
of forty -four patients from different portions of the Statf. 
nineteen of whom were suicidal. Several of these had at- 
temjjted suicide immediately previous to admission — one by 
suspension, which Avas discovered before life was entirely ex- 
tinct, to whom animation was with difficulty restored. An- 
other by cutting her throat in a most shocking manner, and 
others by poison. Two patients who had long been in th^ 
house and never exhibited suicidal propensities attempted it 
during this month, though they had no knowledge of the vio- 
lent death that had occurred in another portion of the buil- 
ding. On the 13th of this month, ignorant of the occurren- 
ces of the previous day, they attempted strangulation, and so 
persevering were they in subsequent attempts, that they could 
only be preserved by mechanical restraint. On the same 
day a female attendant took an ounce of tincture of opium, 
' because she liked it,' without however auj apparent inten- 
tion of self-destruction. She had been an active and faithful 
person, and still continues in the service of the institution, 
useful and trusted. On the 174h, a patient, believed to be 
entirely ignorant of all that had occurred previously, at- 
tempted strangulation, and continued to repeat the attempt 
until restrained by mechanical means. On the 20th, a pa- 
tient tried to open a vein in her neck, and on the 22d anoth- 
er, who knew of the suicide, and was no doubt influenced by 
it, attempted her destruction. From the 14th of July, four- 
teen attempts were made, by eight different persons, and 
twelve others in whom the propensity was strong, required 
constant observation. The suicidal epidemic prevailed from 
the 12th to the end of July, after which time it gradually 
subsided, and left the minds of most of the patients. No 
suicidal attempt was made in August in any portion of the 
Louse." 



^02 AKNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

The treasurer's report for the year shows receipts to $69,- 
753,08. Of this $36,607,52 was received from towns and 
counties, $23,520,30 from friends of private patients, $9,272.- 
85 from the state, for officers' salaries, furniture and support 
of insane convicts. The expenditures were $65,028,25, of 
which $22,687,99 was for provisions and household stores, 
$10,644,51 for attendants, labor, etc., $4,637,74 officers' sala- 
ries, $6,132,78 for furniture, $5,826,89 fuel and lights. 
Messrs. Devereux, Mann, Munson and Beck still remain iu 
ihe board of managers, and Messrs. Sutherland (deceased), 
fCoventry, Williams, Hubbard and Buelhave been succeeded 
by Messrs. William B. Welles, Silas D. Childs, S. Newton 
Dexter, Jod A. Wing and James S. Wadsworth. Mr. Chat- 
lield was succeeded as steward by John M. SJy, and he by 
lHobert J. Norris, Esq., of Augusta, and the latter by Morti- 
mer Rhodes, the present steward. 

The internal management of tlie institution is conducted 
in accordance with the suggestions of the most extended ex- 
perience and the latest improvements and discoveries in sci- 
ence and the treatment of mental diseases, as well as upon 
the principles of the broadest philanthropy and benevolence. 
Within the recollection of multitudes now living, the insane 
were treated as the forsaken of CJod, in whom the evil spirit 
had taken up his abode. They were chained in cages and 
dungeons, without attendance, without clothing, fire or whole- 
some food — suflfering from cold, heat, iefipure air, filth and 
vermin ; in solitude and darkness ; with no sounds but the 
clanking of their chains, the raittling of the bars and grates, 
and their own shrieks, curses and moans ; with never a kind 
word or look, and never visited but to be taunted and' tormen- 
ted, and teased to be made to-exhibit the frenzy and power of 
the maniac — until nature was worn out, may be after many 
years — and death more kind tlian man, came to the relief of 



the sufferer, and earth was relieved of a burden and -disgra-ce 
and his friends of a reproach. What a chasage ! 



FOREST HILL CEMETERY. 

The XJtica Cemetery Associatio7i was organized April 26, 
1849, under the act authorizing rural cemetery associations. 
A tract of land was immediately purchased, consisting of 
about thirty-eight acres, lying upon the Bridgewater plank 
road in the town of New Hartford, about one mile south of 
the city line. A keepers' lodge, receiving tomb, and bell 
tower have been erected, and carriage roads extending about 
three miles, affording an approach to all parts of the grounds, 
liave been completed. Other works and additionsare in pro- 
gress, and the whole affords full evidence of the taste and en- 
terprise of the managers and citizens generally, under whose 
auspices the grounds have been brought into use. The buri- 
al place of a people always furnishes an unmistakeable index 
to their condition, sentiments and affections. The first offi- 
cers of the association were Hon. T. R. Walker, president, 
Julius A. Spencer, vice president, M. IM. Bagg, secretary, 
and E. A. Wetmore, Wm. Tracy, Horatio SeymeuT, Thomas 
Hopper, Wra. J. Bacon, S. D. Childs, C. A. Mann, J. AVat- 
son Williams, and Elisha M. Gilbert, trustees. 

The formal opening of the cemetery for interments took 
place June 14, 1850. A procession was formed at the en- 
entrance consisting of: 1st, the Utica brass band ; 2d, the pu- 
pils of the common schools, as choristers ; od, the clergy ; 
4th, the officers of the association ; 5th, visitors ; 6, citizens. 
The ceremonies were conducted :as follows: 1st, prayer by 



004 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the llev. C. Wylie ; 2d, reading 2d Cor. xv., by Rev. Dr. 
Proal ■ 3d, ode written for the occasion, and sung by the 
whole assembly ; 4th, address by Wm. Tracy, Esq. ; 5th, 
hymn with doxology, tune old hundred ; 6th, benediction by 
llev. Oliver Wetmore. The ceremonies were witnessed by a 
very large number from the city and surrounding country. 
A delegation of about 150 members of the Oneida and On- 
ondaga tribes of Indians was present by invitation, and added 
much to the interest of the occasion. 

The celebrated Oneida Stone, the ancient palladium of the 
Oneida tribe, had been removed from its resting place upon 
kStockbridge Hill, and placed upon a circular mound within 
and opposite to the entrance to the grounds, where it is hence- 
forth to remain as a pledge that the red man is always to 
have the privilege of a resting place in the cemetery. After 
the exercises above mentioned, the Indians repaired to and 
surrounded the Stone, where several addresses were delivered 
to tliem by chiefs of the two tribes, and several hymns were 
sung, by a choir of male and female voices, in their native 
tongue. These closing scenes of the day, in which these rem- 
nants of two once mighty nations were the actors, were an ap- 
propriate and beautiful addition to the ceremonials, and much 
heightened the feeling and pleasure of the vast assemblage 
^ii IKile face& surrounding the red men. 

]Mr. Tracy in his address referred in most beautiful and 
striking terms to the ancient A-go-nish-i-o-ni^ or people of the 
five nations, who used to roam in freedom and security over 
these hills and valleys, and he asserted that they were truly 
named On-guc Homve^ " men surpassing all others." 



xxni.] UTicA. COj 

BANKS. 

The Bank of Uttca^ by the name of " The Presidchk, Di- 
rectors and Company of the Bank of Utica," was incorpora- 
ted by an act of the Legislature, passed June 1st, 1812, with 
a capital of §600,000, and this charter was renewed in 1832. 
The first directors were James S. Kip, Thomas Walker, 
Samuel Stocking, David W. Childs, Marcus Hitchcock, 
Apollos Cooper, Henry Huntington, Nathan Smith, Solomon 
Wolcott, Jedediah Sanger, John Bellinger, Francis A. Blood- 
good, and John Stewart, jr. James S. Kip was appointed 
president in 1812, Henry Huntington in 1813, and Thomas 
Walker in 1845. Montgomery Hiint was elected cashier in 
1812, and AVilliam B. Welles in 1835. The charter having 
expired, the institution was incorporated under the general 
banking law, January 1, 1850, by the name of the " Bank of 
Utica," with its original capital, and to continue until 1950. 
On the 10th of April, 1815, an act Was passed authorizing 
this bank to establish a branch at Canandaigua, which was 
accordingly done, and continued during the existence of the 
<;harter. 

Ontario Branch Bank. — The " President, Directors 
and Company of the Ontario Bank," \vith a capital of 
$500,000, and located at Canandaigua. were incorporated 
by the Legislature, March 12, 1813. Re-chartered in 
1829, to endure until the 1st of January, 1856. By an 
act passed April ID, 1815, a branch of this bank was es- 
tablished at Utica, with a capital of $300,000, taken from 
the mother bank. First directors of the branch ; Benjamin 
Walker, Jeremiah Van llensselaer, Arthur Breese, Joseph 
Kirkland, William G. Tracy, Charles C. Brodhend, James 
Piatt, Kellogg Hurlburt, Jesse W. Doolittle, Abraham Var- 



60!i ANNALS 0? ONEiDA COUirTV. [(JHAC, 

ick, Moses Bagg, Jasoa Parker and James Lyoch. Presi- 
dents: Col. Benjamin Walker was appointed July 14, 1815,. 
and died January 13, 1818. Arthur Breese appointed Feb- 
ruary 17, 1818, and resigned September 13, 1819. Alexan- 
der Bryan Johnson was isppointed September 13, 1819, and 
has held tlie office to the present time. Cashiers : James 
Kissam appointed July 29, 1815, and resigned May 28. 
18IG. John II. Lothrop appointed May 31, 1816, and died 
flune 15, 1329. Thomas Kockwell was appointed June. 
1829, and died August IG, 1849. James Stoughton Lynch 
the present ea.shier was appointed Aug. 29, 1849. 

Oneida Bank. — The Oneida 'Btmk was incofperated by 
the Legislature, May 13, 183G, wiSk a capital of $400,000. 
and its charter extends until 18G6: Its fira^ direstors were 
('harles A. Mann, Horatio Seymour, John H. Ostrom, John 
I). Leland, Van Vechten Livingssou, Augustine G. Dauby 
Ezra S. Barnum, Henry Wager, J<rase W. Doolittle. Israel 
Stoddard, Charlemagne rov.'er, Hiram Shays and Jonathau 
K. Warner. Auguatine G. Dauby was appointed president 
and Kellogg Hurlburt, cashier, upon the organization of the 
bank in September, 183G, but resigned in December follow- 
ing, and Alfred Munson was appointed president, and Blceck- 
or B. Lansing, cashier, and have held those offices until the 
present time. Before the organization of this bank, the bu- 
siness of the city and county had for some time demanded 
an increase ei' banking capital, and its creation in this form 
met with general favor, but the day of its first beginnings, 
although bright and tranquil at its dawn, ended in a hurri- 
cane. The commissioners named in the act, for the distribu- 
tion of its stock were Messrs. Augustine G. Dauby, Eara S. 
Barnum, Amos Woodworth, David Brown, Alva Mudge, 
John Billings. Hiram Shays. Lester Barker, John Ruger, 



XXIII.] UTICTA. GOT 

George Langfortl and William Osborn, jr. O'a the 25th of 
July, 1836, the books of subscription were opened and such 
was the eagerness for the stock that over 82,800,000, or 28,000 
sliares were subscribed for, and ten per cent paid (S280,000) 
on that sum, although but 4000 shares ($ 400,000 the capital) 
were to be distributed— and no subscriber could receive over 
twenty-five shares. It was understood or believed by many 
friends of the bank, that an effort was on foot on the part of 
other ridi associationa and capitalists to obtain a majority of 
its stock, and that to this end they had procured a large num- 
ber of sabscribers to become their du}?imics. All these cir- 
•umstances combined, as well as political considerations to 
be kept in mind with respect to the then dominant party, 
placed the commissioners in circum&iances of great difficulty 
and delicacy. It would be impossible even to do^as well in 
the distribution by their party and personal friends as every 
sentiment of generosity, and every m.otive of poliey dictated, 
because of the number of applicants. Disappointment and 
consequent fault finding, jealousy and enmity were inevitable 
The distribution was made and the explosion followed 
The following shows how the stock was cut up aind parcelled 
out : 3 persons received one share each, 5 persons received 
two shares each, 50 received three shares each, 50 received 
ibur shares each, 271 received five shares each, 25 received 
six shares each, 8 received seven siiares each, 110 received 
eight shares each, 1 received nine; 86 received ten, 1 re- 
oeived twelve, 1 received fifteen and 12 persons- received 
twenty-five shares each, making 4,000 shares divided among 
673 subscribers, whereas if it had been distributed in propor- 
tion to the number of subscribers and amount subscribed, less 
than 300 would have received stock. Of course the unsuc- 
cess-rul were in the majority, for of over 2,000 subscribers, 
juore than 1,350 had no stock. On paper, the distributiou 



^'03 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr. 

tvas unprecedentedly equal and fair, fo^ in most of the other 
distributions of bank stock of that period, the rule had been 
to give the larger, or largest amounts to a few, and thus re- 
tain a sure control, and in this case if there had been any 
trickery or rascality it could not be found on the record, but 
was to be surmised, guessed at, charged or proved. The com- 
missioners, or a part of them, were charged with obtaining 
large amounts of stock indirectly by dumniies, and as proof 
of this, the fact that their personal and political friends, their 
townsmen and neighbors, and cousins had obtained stock, was 
brought up, but the fact that precisely the same classes were 
among the o2its was forgotten. There was doubtless some 
truth and a good deal oi 2^oetry in the charge, for several of the 
commissioners were able and desired to hold more than twen- 
ty-five shares each, (the number to which they were limited 
by law in the distribution), and had doubtless made arrange- 
ments by which they were ultimately to have the stock of 
certain subscribers, by paying from five to ten per cent pre- 
mium. Some with whom such arrangements were made got 
no stock, and were consequently willing to shoio up the com- 
missioners. A public meeting was called in this city at which 
office holders and candidates for office were belabored. An 
excitement was created, meetings and conventions called 
s.nd tickets nominated. Dissatisfied democrats and whigs 
formed a coalition, by which a part of the union ticket was 
elected. An injunction was sought to restrain the bank from 
going into operation, but without success. Some of the com- 
missioners were indicted, but time either mellowed down the; 
as.perities of men, or else brought up new schemes, so that the 
defendants went " without day." 

But a real calamity was in store for the bank. On Sun- 
day the SOth of November, 1836, its vaults were entered and 
about $108,000 stolen, besides $8,500 in drafted etc . r.nd thug 



XXIII.] UTICA. 609 

was its stock reduced about thirty per cent, by one of the most 
bold and successful robberies ever perpetrated in the United 
States. The bank building had several years previously been 
occupied by the branch of the U. S. bank located here, and 
while being fitted up for the Oneida Bank, the rogues had had 
free access to its vault, locks, etc., during the nights and Sun- 
days. Not an Oneida bill was taken, as they did not wish 
the paper of a broken bank, supposing they had abstracted 
its entire capital. One of the robbers watched on the out- 
side, while the other, carpet bag in hand, in the broad light 
of day, although quite early in the morning, entered the front 
door, and unlocking or breaking the locks, " removed the depos- 
its." Throwing the carpet bag carelessly upon the deck of a 
line-boat, he proceeded west, while the other took another boat 
and the two upon different boats, sometimes going a short 
distance in opposite dii-ections, after a while reached Roches- 
ter, where the spoils were divided equally, ^j«- ba7ik marks. 
;ijid there they first learned that they had but little over a 
quarter instead of the whale bank capital. Fortunately tlie 
Icnk was able to describe with considerable particularity 
over ^50.000 of the bills taken, and in one or two instance.'^ 
those included nearly all of a particular denomination which 
e,he banks issuing them had in circulation. After several 
7r.ouths those banks became aware that some of those bill? 
were afloat, and after several efforts they were traced into 
Canada, where one of the rogues was found engaged in ex- 
tensive business. The bank secured some thirty or_ forty 
thousand dollars in real and personal property, and the rob- 
ber was brought to this county and convicted of the crime. 
He was however immediately released from prison, in con- 
sideration that he had made a, full ViXy^ frank confession, and 
agreed to assist in catching his colleague. The other was 
however never caught, although the agents of the bank Irav- 

39 



GIO ANXALS OF ONEIDA COUXTV. [CIIAP. 

cllcd thousands of miles for the purpose. In his share of the 
money was a $1000 bill, No. 21. of the bank of Portland. 
Me., which, it was hoped, would lead to his detection. After 
several years that bill having been returned to the Portland 
bank in the ordinary course of business, was tracked from 
this country to England, and from thence to France, but 
there time had obliterated its foot prints, and its trail could 
be followed no farther. 

It is said there are yet persons in the county, who having 
been told so when this bank was one of the elements of polit- 
ical strife, yet believe that the Oneida bank was not robbed, 
charging the abstraction of its funds to the commissioners 
who neglected them in the distribution of stock, but with 
such persons argument is useless, and evidence and facts have 
no influence. 

Bmik of Central Nnv York. — This bank was organized 
under the general banking law, September 17, 1838, with a 
capital of $110,200. Its first directors were Chas. Gould. 
Spencer Kellogg, Elisha M. Gilbert, Frederick Hollistcr. 
Samuel D. Dakin, Heman Ferry and George Curtiss. Chas. 
Gould was chosen president, September 17, 1838, and was 
succeeded by Anson Thomas, the present incumbent, in 
March, 1839. E. 11. S. Mumford was secretary of the insti- 
tution until the election of Timothy O. Grannis, the present 
cashier, in January. 1839. This bank also acts as a saving?" 
bank. 

Utica Savings Bank. — •"The Savings Bank of Utica'" 
wa.s incorporated by an act of the Legislature, passed April 
2G, 1839. Its first directors were John C Devereux. presi- 
dent ; Thomas AValker, Samuel Stocking. Joseph Ivirkland, 
Silas D. Ohilds, John Savaoro. Thomas II. Hubbard. Jehn II. 



XXIII.) UTICA. 611 

Ostrom, Hiram Deuio, Charles P. Kirkland, Jas. McGregor, 
Joshua M. Church, William Francis, Nicholas Devereus ; 
Stalham Williams, secretary. Stalham Williams, Esq., has* 
been actuary of the institution since its organization. Mr. 
Williams came to Utica in 1807, and now at the age of sev- 
onty-eight possesses much of the mental and physical vigor 
and elasticity of youth and is constantly at his post, which 
he has occupied so long with strict fidelity. 

City Bank. — The '• Utica City Bank,'' an association un- 
der the general banking law, was organized September 26th. 
1 S48, with a capital of $125,000, which has since been in- 
creased to $200,000. First directors : Hiram Deuio, Chas. 
H. Doolittle, Charles S. Wilson, William Bristol, Isaiah Tif- 
fany, Cyrus Clark, Jared E. Warner, Edward Curran, Simon 
Y. Oley, Samuel A. Munsou, George S. Dana, James ?il. 
Kimball, and Joseph A. Mott. Hiram Deuio was chosen 
president, and Charles S. Wilson, cashier, upon the organi- 
zation of the bmk and still retain those offices. 

The banks of Utica have ever been among the soundest 
institutions of the kind in the state. Their credit has never 
been shaken for a moment, and they have never been materi- 
ally affected by the financial crises and revulsions which 
liave wrecked so many of their follows. Of the Utica Bank 
Mr. Hunt;.ngton was president thirty-two years, and Mr. 
Hunt, cashier twenty-three years, and of the Ontario Brancii 
A.B. Johnson, Esq., has been president about thirty-two years, 
and Mr. Rockwell was cashier twenty years ; and it is but 
lair to presume that the success of these banks has been in 
a great measure the result of the experience and skill of those 
officers. 

On the 16th of September, 1830; a branch of the United 



G12 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr. 

States Bank was opened here, and remained until the branches 
of that institution were withdrawn upon the expiration of 
its charter. John C Devcreux was president ; W. W. Fra- 
zicr, cashier ; J. C. Devereux. John Williams, R. B. Miller, 
John E. Hinman, Nathan Williams, S. D. Childs, W. Crafts, 
James Sayre, Samuel Lightbody, directors. 

Not far from the year 1810, a branch of the Manhalian 
Bank was established in TJtica. Messrs. William Floyd, 
James S. Kip, F. A. Bloodgood, Solomon Wolcott, John 
Bellinger. Thomas Walker, Apollos Cooper, M. Hitchcock, 
TI. Huntington, Nathan Smith, Ephraim Hart, and Natlian 
AVilliams were directors that year. The author has not 
ascertained how long the branch was continued- 



INSURANCE COMFANIEP. 

3I.arch 29, 1816, an act was passed incorporating the I'tica 
Insurance Company. Bryan Johnson. James S. Kip and 
Alexander B. Johnson, were the commissioners named in tbp 
act for receiving subscriptions to the stock. The act was 
prefaced by the following singular preamble: "Whereas it 
has been represented to this Legislature that incorporating 
an Insurance Company which has been formed in the village 
of Utica, will tend to mitigate the awful calamities of fire, to 
give greater security to manufactures, and more confidence 
to those who adventure their property on our vast navigable 
waters, and tohereas, it doth appear that these objects are 
laudable, and that a company promoting them in the interior 
of our country, where the profits must necessuril}' be small, 
should be liberally encouraged, therefore," etc. 

This company ceased to exist many years ago. It owned 



XXIII.] UTICA. 613 

and occupied the buildiug on the north-west corner of Whites- 
boro and Division Streets. 

Under the recent general law authorizing the formation of 
Insurance Companies, the following companies have been or- 
ganized in Utica. 

The Utica Insurance Company, capital $150,000, organ- 
ized in 1850. 

The ^tna Insurance Company, capital $125,000, organ- 
ized in 1851. 

The Farmers' Insurance Company, of Oneida County ; 
capital $100,000, organized in 1851. 



STEAM WOOLEN MILLS. 

In 184G, a new spirit of enterprise was created or brought 
into exercise in Utica. It was evident that the city had ar- 
rived at a point, whence its progress would be slow, even if 
not brought to a •' stand still" as to population and business, 
unless new fields should be opened. Before this, large sums 
of the capital of the place had sought investment in other 
cities and states, upon the lakes, etc. Without water power, 
without the benefits of shipping, except upon the canal, with- 
out the natural advantages possessed by other places, yet 
with a large amount of capital ready for use, something was 
to be sought out, if Utica was to keep pace with other places 
of its size. A public meeting was called and a committee 
appointed to see what could be done with steam. After vis- 
iting many of the manufacturing establishments of New En- 
gland, this committee made a report which was published, in 
which the advantages of steam were set forth, and many in- 
teresting facts given. As a result the Utica Steam Woolen 
Mills Company was organized this year, with a capital of 



614 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr. 

about $100,000. First directors: Andrew S. Pond, presi- 
dent ; Samuel Churchill, secretary ; Thomas Colling, treas- 
urer ; Dolphus Skinner, Nicholas Devereux, George T. Tay- 
lor, Benjamin Cahoon, Hamilton Spencer, and C. Goodrich. 
William C. Churchill, agent The factory buildings were 
erected during the following year upon Nail Creek and Col- 
umbia Street. Number of carding machines thirty, number 
of spindles, 2,400 ; number looms, fifty ; number of hands 
employed, one hundred males and seventy-five females. 
About 300,000 pounds of wool are used annually, making 
about 150,000 yards of broad-cloths of various qualities. 
About i»36.000 are paid annually for labor. 



GLOBE MILLS. 



The Utica Globe Mills Woolen Company was organized 
in 1847, and erected its factory buildings upon Nail Creek 
and Varick Street. First directors : Alfred Munson, presi- 
dent; Theodore S. Faxton, vice president; William J. Ba- 
con, secretary ; Martin Hart, treasurer ; Horatio Seymour. 
Andrew S. Pond. Hamilton Spencer, Julius A. Spencer and 
Palmer V. Kellogg. Samuel Churchill, agent. In capital, 
amount of wool used, cloth produced, machinery, etc., etc., 
these are the same as in the Steam Mills. These factories 
are driven by powerful steam engines, which are found to 
possess many advantages over water power. For heating 
the buildings, coloring, scouring, drying, etc., heat is obtain-, 
cd from the boilers, and the factories are lighted by gas. 
manufactured upon the premises. 



XXIII.] UTICA. 615 

STEAM COTTON MILLS. 

TheUliea Steam Cotton Mills Company was organised iu 
1 847, with a capital of $230,000. First directors : Alfred 
Munson, president ; S. D. Childs, T. S. Faxton, E. A. Gra- 
ham, C. A. Mann, William Walcott, and Horatio Seymour. 
The main building is 300 feet long by sixty wide, and three 
stories high, and has wings extending back from each end, 
and an engine house adjoining the centre. The mill was 
put in operation in 1850, although but about half filled with 
machinery. The building at present contains : 

No. of spindles, 7000. Capacity for about 15000. 

• '• looms, leO. '• " 360. 

" hands, 1 05. '• '• 300. 

Number of yards manufactured about 1.200.000; estimated 
capacity for 2.400,000 yards annually. The buildings, en- 
gine and machinery are all of the best kind, neither money 
nor time having been spared in their erection and manufac- 
ture. The steam engine is one of the finest in the state, and 
the machinery is all of the newest patterns and contains the 
latest improvements, and as a whole it is highly creditable to 
the managers and stockholders and ornamental to the city. 
Location, west side of State Street, between Columbia and 
Court Streets. 

These three manufacturing establishments have given a 
new impulse to the city. Various other branches of business 
connected with or dependent upon manufacturing establish- 
ments have grown up, and altogether have added several 
thousands to the population. There are also various other 
joint stock companies and associations engaged in other 
branches of manufacture. A rolling mill for difi"erent kinds 
of bar iron went into successful operation in 1850. An 



G16 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

establishment for manufacturing all descriptions of brass and 
iron wood-screws, by newly invented machinery, has been in 
operation several years. To enumerate the several machine- 
shops, furnaces, and manufactories of a great variety of 
articles of iron, steel, wood, stone, brass, leather, etc., etc., 
would exceed the author's limits. The artisans of Utica hold 
a high rank in their various departments, for ingenuity, skill 
and success. 



WATER WORKS 



The Utica Water Works Company was incorporated by 
an act passed March 31, 1848, with a capital of $75,000, and 
in 1850 an act was passed authorizing an increase of its cap- 
ital to $150,000, by virtue of which it has been increased to 
$85,000, and all paid in. First directors : James Watson 
Williams, Nicholas Devereux, Alfred Munson, Andrew S. 
Pond, Charles A. Mann, Horatio Seymour, S. D. Childs. 
AV'illard Crafts and Thomas Hopper. On the 21st of April. 
1849, a contract was made with Thomas Hopper, Esq., to 
construct the necessary works for conducting the water to 
and through the city, and with such energy and perseverance 
was the work carried forward, against many discouragement? 
and difficulties, that the water was let into the city on the 
8th of November following. The water is taken from Frank- 
fort hill, four miles distant, and conducted through a brick 
aqueduct, three miles, and in cast pipes one mile to the res- 
ervoir between High and Chatham Streets, and thence by 
iron pipes through the principal streets of the city. 



XXIII. J lUTICA. 617 

GAS WORKS. 

The certificate of incorporation, under the- general law, of 
the Utiea Gras Company, was signed o.n the 21st, and filed in 
the office of the Secretary of State on the 22d of November, 
1848. Capital, $80,000. First directors: Nicholas Devereux, 
S. D. Childs, Greo. S. Dana, Hamilton Spencer, Thomas R. 
Walker, James Watson Williams, John F. Seymour, John 
Lee and Lemuel H. Davis. During 1849, the necessary 
buildings and apparatus, upon the lower side of Water Street, 
near the termination of Washington Street, and the laying 
down of pipes in various streets, were commenced, and the 
stores on Grenesee Street were first lighted by gas on the 16th 
of September, 1850, and several public buildings and churches 
soon afterwards. Since then a gradual progress has been 
made in lighting streets and carrying gas into other parts of 
the city. 



ANCIENT BRITONs' SOCIETY. 

"The Ancient Britons' Benefit Society was organized April 
13, 1814, and incorporated by an act of the Legislature 
April 18, 1815, and its charter renewed by an act passed 
March 23, 1829. This society is composed of natives of 
Wales and their descendants. Its members pay $3 per an- 
num, in quarterl}' payments ; and receive $3 per week while 
incapacitated for labor by sickness ; and in case of the death 
of a member, the sum of $20 is appropriated to defray hi? 
funeral charges. 

The first officers of the society, under its charter, were, 
John Adams, president ; William Francis, vice-president ; 
Daniel James, secretary ; John Stevens and Thomas George, 



G18 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

stewards ; and Titus Evans, Henry Reed, Jolm Recs, John 
Reed, jr., Thomas Thomas, Patner Lloyd and William Davies, 
standing committee. 

The following is a list of the presidents of this society since 
1825, the records of previous years having been lost. The 
annual election takes place on St. David's day, the 1st of 
iMarch, unless that day is Sunday, when the election is upon 
the next day. William Francis, in 1825, '31, '33 and '35 ; 
Thomas James, sen., 1826, '27 and '29 ; David Reed, 1828, 
38, '40 and '41 ; John Adams, 1830 ; Thomas James, 1832 ; 
Thomas Sidebotham, 1834; David E. Morris, 1836 and '37; 
Thomas James, jr., 1839; Llewellyn D. Howell, 1842; Mor- 
von M. Jones, 1843 and '44 ; Benjamin Owens, 1845 ; 
Henry Roberts, 1846 ; Peter Davies, 1847 and '48 ; Thomas 
B Howell, 1849: Philip Thomas, 1850; Henry Roberts, 
1851. 

The society has held its quarterly and annual meetings 
regularly ever since its organization, although, for a time, its 
members were few and funds small ; but for soms years past 
it lias been in a more prosperous condition, having a fund of 
from ten to fifteen hundred dollars. 



aiECaANlCs' ASSOCIATION. 

On the 5th day of May, 1831, a meeting of "sundry 
mechanics" was called, and held at the inn of John King, 
corner of Washington Street and the canal, and of which 
John Culver was chosen chairman, and J. D. Edwards, sec- 
vetiiry : voted, " that we deem it necessary and expedient for 
the mechanics and manufacturers of Utiea and its vicinity, to 
form themselves into an association, for mutual interests and 
benefits," and that Messrs. Jolm Culver, Stephen Walker. S. 



xxm.] trricA. 610 ' 

G-. Walker, J. Mason, D. C. Macomber, R. R. Rhodes, J. 1). 
Edwards, A. B. Williams, W. C. Rogers and James 
McGregor, be a committee to draft a constitution and by-laws. 

May 12. — Constitution and by-laws reported and adopted. 

May 16. — The association elected the following officers* 
for the year, viz : Thomas Walker, president ; Kellogg 
Hurlburt, vice president ; J. D. Edwards, secretary ; Zenas 
Wright, treasurer; Simon V. Oley, William Francis, James 
McGregor, W. C. Rogers, A. B. Williams, D. S. Porter and 
Augustus Hurlburt, directors. 

The " Utica Mechanics' Association " was incoi'porated 
March 30, 1833. The objects embraced within the design 
of the association were the encouragement of the mechanic 
arts, the improvement of those engaged in them, the main- 
taining of a reading room, an apprentices' library, procuring 
of public lectures, etc., etc. By the charter, Thomas Walker, 
Andrew S. Pond, John Parsons. Gardiner Tracy. Jacob D. 
Edwards, Zenas Wright, and their associates, were declared 
a body corporate ; and its first officers under the charter were, 
Thomas Walker, president ; A. S. Pond and J. Parsons, 
vice presidents ; Gardiner Tracy, corresponding, and J. D. 
Edwards, recording secretaries ; Zenas Wright, treasurer ; 
Joseph E. Bloomfield, James Murdock, Julius A. Spencer, 
Rufus Northway, John Mason, Thomas Thomas, jr., John S> 
Peckham, John A. Russ, Philo C. Curtiss, Robert R. Rhodes, 
Elisha A. Maynard, James McGregor, Harvey Barnard, 
Thomas Colling, Ezra S. Barnum and John J. Francis, direc- 
tors. The following persons have been presidents of the 
association; viz.: T. Walker in 1831, '32, '33, '34, and '35 ; 
Gardiner Tracy, 1836, '37 ; Rudolph Snyder, 1838, '39, '40, 
'41 and '42 ; E. S. Barnum, 1843 ; John S. Peckham, 1844 ; 
Harvey Barnard, 1845 ; Levi Cozzens, 1846 ; Simon V. Oley, 
1847 ; Dolphas Bennett, 1848; Otis Manchester, 1849 : Grove. 



620 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Penny, 1850 ; D. Bennett, 1851. In 1836 and '37, the edifice 
known as Mechanics' Hall was erected by the association, partly 
with the subscriptions of the citizens generally and partly with 
funds loaned upon a mortgage of the property, to be repaid from 
the income of the building. In 1836, the association com- 
menced the holding of annual fairs, for the exhibition of all 
kinds of manufactured articles and works of art ; and for the 
encouragement of exhibitors, small premiums were paid or 
diplomas granted upon those worthy. For a few years 
past these exhibitions have greatly increased in interest, in 
the number and quality of the articles exhibited, and the 
number who have visited them. For 1850 and 1851, the 
fairs were particularly honorable to the managers and exhib- 
itors, and it is believed that no city west of New York can 
excel the mechanics and artisans of Utica, in the variety, 
beauty, design and workmanship of their products. From 
the rents of the hall and receipts of fairs, the association 
will soon be out of debt, when they will be able and willing 
greatly to increase the amounts and number of premiums. 



scHooj;.?. 

Utica Academy. — On the 31st of December, 1813, Jere- 
miah Van Rensselaer, Arthur Breese, John Stewart, jr., 
Thomas Walker, Bryan Johnson, David W. Childs, Ebene- 
aer B. Shearman, Samuel Stocking, Augustus Hickox, Gur- 
don Burchard, Benjamin Paine, Abraham Varick, jr., A. 
Van Santvoord, James Van Rensselaer, jr., Erastus Clark, 
James S. Kip, Joseph Kirklaud, John Bellinger and Nathan 
Williams signed a petition to the Regents of the University, 
asking the incorporation of the Academy in the village of 
Utica, and in which they state, that " they had contributed 



XXIII.] UTICA. 62 1 

more than one half in Yalue of the real and personal proper- 
ty and estate collected and appropriated for " the said acad- 
emy. " The Utica Academy " was accordingly incorporated 
on the 28th of March, 1814, as appears by the certificate 
thereof, signed by Daniel D. Tompkins, chancellor of tlie 
university. By this charter, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, F. 
A. Bloodgood, J. Stewart, jr., A. Breese, Apollos Cooper, 
Thomas Walker, Solomon Wolcott, E. B. Shearman, Thomas 
Skinner, Bryan Johnson, Talcott Camp, D. W. Childs, and 
Anson Thomas, were designated as its first trustees. A select 
school had been previously established, which was taken in 
charge by the trustees, and in 1816, a subscription was star- 
ted by the patrons and friends of the academy, and another 
by the village corporation and citizens generally, for the pur- 
pose of erecting an " academy, town house and court room," 
by their combined efforts and means. In 1816, the lots oc- 
cupied at present, were purchased of Mrs. Brinckerhofi", for 
$2,000, with a title confirmed to the trustees of the academy 
in perpetuity, but in trust, and on condition that the academy 
should permit '• all village or town meetings and courts of 
justice sitting in said village, to be holden in said building," 
etc. The building was completed so far as to be occupied in 
1817 or '18, but at various periods since has been much im- 
proved. 

In 1818, Rev. Samuel T. Mills was engaged as " pveccp- 
tor," and Mr. Whitesides as assistant. The standing of thi.s 
institution at diSerent periods has been as various as the 
standing and talents of its several principals and teachers. 
In 1832, the building was used as a cholera hospital, when 
the academy library was lost or destroyed. 

Utica Female Academy. — The first meeting of the stock- 
holders of this institution was held February 13, 1837, and 



622 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

an act for its incorporation was passed April 28, of the same 
year. In this year the 4 lots lying between the upper extrem- 
ity of Washington Street and Broadway, being 100 by 240 feet, 
were purchased (with four small dwellings upon them), for 
^6,300, and upon which the academy now stands. The first 
trustees were : John H. Ostrom, Nicholas Devereus, Hora- 
tio Seymour, C. A. Maun, Joshua A. Spencer, S. D. Childs, 
T. S. Faxton, J. C. Devcreux, Alrick Hubbell, T. E. Clark. 
T. H. Hubbard, Theodore Pomcroy, A. Munson, B. F. Coop- 
er, Chester Griswold, Jolm Williams. Horace Butler. Charles 
1'. Kirkland, S. P. Lyman, Holmes Hutchinson, and Henry 
White. 

The school was soon afterwards opened in the building 
known as the United States Hotel, on the corner of Genesee 
and Pearl Streets, under the care of Miss Urania E. Sheldon, 
(now Mrs. Dr. Nott), and continued in that location until 
the completion of the new edifice. Number of students in 
December, 1833, 1G8. February 17, 1838, contracts were 
executed with Messrs. Lyman Scranton. Joshua M. Church. 
and Truman B. Dickson, for the erection of the academy 
building of brick, 50 by 150 feet, three stories high, and hav- 
ing been completed, it was leased to Miss Cynthia Sheldon, 
in January, 1840. The corner stoneof the academy was laid 
June 20, 1838. Miss U. E. Sheldon remained the principal 
Tintil the summer of 1842, and on the 1st of August of that 
year. Rev. James Nichols was appointed to that station, and 
who, on the 1st of June, 1844, was succeeded by Miss Jane 
E. Kelly, the present principal. This institution has ever 
held a very high rank among the female academies of the 
country, and has received students from nearly, or quite all 
of the States and Canada. ^It has always employed from 
ten to fourteen teachers in its various departments, exclusive 
of those of music, painting and drawing, and lecturers upon 



XXIII.] VTiCA. 623 

various branches of science. Number of students attending 
the term ending January 31, 1851, 185 ; whole number with- 
in the year, 292. 

Common Schools. — In common -ffith the various cities of 
the state, it was found after many years' trial, that the com- 
aion school system of the state, was incompetent for a place 
of the size of Utica, while the aldermen were the acting trus- 
tees. Either from faults in the school laws or a failure to 
execute them, or both, the common schools of the city de- 
scended to the lowest grade and were patronized by none 
who felt any interest in the education of their children, or 
v.'ho could afi'ord to do otherwise. Incompetent teachers were 
employed, or if competent ones were engaged, from the inad- 
equacy of their salaries, a want of encouragement, and the ir- 
regularity of attendance, they accomplished but very lit- 
tle, and their scholars were from families in which little, or 
no interest was taken in their progress. In fact the common 
schools of the city were worse than useless, as but little ben- 
eficial was learned, while the children when collected were 
ready to receive and practice lessons in mischief and crime. 
The school houses, and their furniture, and the books of the 
pupils were in keeping with every thing else. 

But a new era dawned upon the city, and a revolution most 
thorough has been effected. The common schools of Utica 
it is believed are of as high an order as those of any city in 
the state. On the 7th of April. 1842, a special act was passed 
reorganizing and Yemodelling the schools of the city, whicli 
took effect in the spring of 1843. By this law the entire su- 
pervision and interests of the common schools, as well as 
school moneys, were placed in charge of a board of six com- 
missioners, tv'o of whom are elected annually, and by an ar- 
rangement tvctwceu the two political parties, one of these is 



6'24 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAF. 

nominated and supported by eacli, thus placing the schools 
above the influence of party politics. The first commission- 
ers were : Rudolph Snyder, Hiram Denio, Spencer Kellogg, 
Francis Kernan, Robert T. Hallock and J. Watson Williams. 
Messrs. Dcnio, Kernan and Williams have since remained in 
the board, and Messrs. William Tracy, Edmund A. Wet- 
more and Thomas R. Walker have taken the places of the 
other three. A new and healthy spirit was soon infused into 
the schools-— they were soon patronized by all classes of citi- 
zens, and placed upon a respectable footiug. Competent teach- 
ers were employed, new school houses were erected or fitted 
up, which Were filled with furniture, too good to be v:]iiulc(l 
and marred, new and improved text books introduced, and a 
spirit of pride and ambition inspired in the pupils. A large 
three story building was erected upon the corner of Elizabet!.'. 
and Charlotte vStreets, for the advanced and intermediate de- 
partments, in which ten teachers are employed, and where the 
pupils are instructed in most of the brandies usually taught 
in academies. Ten primary and two other intermediate 
schools are located in different parts of the city. Two other 
beautiful and finely finished scliool houses have been recent- 
ly erected ; one in West Utica and the other on Corn Hill 
For all this progrsss the cily is mainly indebted to the ener- 
gy and judgment of the commissioners. The common sclioo! 
Jibrary contains about 3,000 volumes, and is doubtless one 
of the most valuable and carefully selected public libraries of 
its size in the State : indeed it is believed that very few pri- 
vate libraries have been selected with equal care. 



SECRET SOCIETIES. 

Utica X^odgo, No. 47 (original No. 270), of Free Mason? 



xxm.] UTiCA. 625 

was organized imdcr a charter, dated November 20, AD. 1816, 
A. L. 5,816. This charter was signed by Be Witt Clinton 
Ixrand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York ; 
Michael Hoffman, J>. G. master ; Cadwallader D. Golden, 
senior Gr. warden ; Elisha Gilbert, jr.. junior G. W. ; and 
John Wells, G. secretary ; and by which Montgomery Hunt 
was named first master, Ephraim Hart, senior warden, and 
Thomas Walker, junior warden of the lodge. This lodge 
has held its regular meetings ever since its oi'ganization. 

Oriental Lodge, No. 244. was chartered June 7, 1851. 

Oneida Royal Arch Chapter, No. 57, was chartered Feb- 
ruary 17, 1817. 

Utica Encampment, No. 3, of Knight Templars and ap- 
pendant orders, was chartered Februarys, 1823. Its officers 
named in the charter were : Richard Sanger, illustrious G. 
M., Rev. Elijah F. Willey. generalissimo, and Tiionias Lat- 
timore, captain-general. 

Oneida Lodge, No. 70, Independent Order of Odd Pel- 
lows, was chartered May 21, 1842. 

Skeuandoah Lodge, No. 95, I. 0. of 0. F., was chartered 
October 13, 1843. 

Schuyler Lodge. No. 147, I. 0. of 0. F., was chartered 
March 27, 1845. 

Central City Lodge, No. 231, L 0. of 0. F., was chartered 
May 6, 1846. 

These four lodges reported 502 members January I, 1851. 

Utica Degree Lodge, No. 18. I. 0. of 0. F.,was chartered 
April 10, 1844. 

Tri-Mount Encampment, No. 24, L 0. of 0. F., was char- 
tered August 25, 1845. 

The Grand Lodge of Northern New York, I. O. of O. F. 

40 



626 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTr. [ciur. 

and the G-rand EDcampmcnt of Northern New York. I. 0. of 
0. F., were chartered September 2.1. 1849, by the Grand 
Lodge of the United States, upon the division of the Grand 
Lodge of this State, and their charter location is in this city. 

Central Tent, No. 13. Independent Order of Rechabites, 
chartered November 21, 1843. 

Mount Vernon Tent. No. 17, I. O. of B,., chartered De- 
cember 26, 1843. 

Fort Schuyler Encampment, No. 8. E. O. of I. R., char- 
tered March U. 1847. 

Central New York District Tent, No. 4, I. O. of E,.. char- 
tered December 13, 1843, 

Mount Olive Tent. No. 11, Daughters of Rechab. chartered 

May 16-, 1848. 

Utica Section. No 85, Cadets of Temperance, chartered 
April 13, 1848. 

Utica City Lodge, Na 16, Independent Order of Good 
Samaritans, chartered February 21, 1850. 

Fountain of Health Lodge, No. 15, Daughters of Samaria, 
chartered July 15, 1850. 

Oneida Division, No. 98, Sona of Temperance, chartered 
October 11, 1845. 

Schuyler Division, No. 316. S of T., chartered February 
8, 1848. 

Rail Road Division, No. 433, S. of T., chartered September 
2i5., 1848. 



XXf!) ] UTICA-. 6'J. 

U tica Union, No. 59. Daughters of Temperance, chartered 
June 28, 1848. 

Excelsior Section, No. 20. Sisters of Cadets, chartered 
August 28, 1850. 

Utica Temple of Honor, No. 39, S. of T., chartered May 

3. 1847. 

Oneida Council, No. 19, 0. U. A. Mechanics-, chartered 
July C, 1848. 

Utica Loge, No. 25, des Alt Deutsehen Ordens der Haru- 
garie, chartered October 11, 1849. 

Eintrachts Loge, No. 29, A. J). 0. H., chartered February 
U. 1850. 



NEWSPAPERS. 



On the 1st of January, 1822, a Presbyterian periodics'l 
was commenced entitled " The Utica Christia?i Repository.'^ 
published by Merrill and Hastings, and printed by William 
V/illiams. It was published monthly, containing thirty-two 
pages octavo, and was continued several years. It was de- 
voted exclusively to religious intelligence, and the discussion 
of religious questions. Subsequently the " Western Rccw- 
dcrl'^ a weekly religious newspaper, of the same denomina- 
tional character, was published for a few years, and is believed 
to have been the successor of the former. 

About the Ist of April, 1827, the Evangelical Magazine, 
an Universalist newspaper, was established, edited and pub- 



628 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

lished by Rev. Dolplius Skinner, then recently settled in 
Utica, and Lemuel Willis of Troy, and printed at the Oneida 
Observer office. It was published semi-monthly until Janu- 
ary 1, 1830, when the Gospel Advocate^ an Universalist paper, 
commenced at Buffalo, in 1823, and the Magazine were uni- 
ted, and thence forward published weekly. For a consider- 
able number of years, while under the charge Mr. Skinner, 
the paper was highly prosperous, with a large subscription 
list, and conducted with much ability. It was subsequently, 
at different periods, conducted by the Rev. xiaron B. Grosh. 
C. C. P. Grosh, Orrin Hutchinson and Albert Walker, witii 
various corresponding or assistant editors. It was discon- 
tinued, for want of requisite support, about the year 1848. 

The " Baptist Register^'' now the New York Baptist Reg- 
ister, a weekly newspaper, was established in Utica. February 
20, 1824, under the editorial charge of Rev. Messrs. E. F, 
Willey, Elon Galusha and J. Lothrop, and printed at the Ob- 
server office by A. G. Dauby. In the first volume, each number 
contained eight pages, about five by ten inches square. Feb- 
ruary 4, 1825, Alexander M. Bcebee, Esq., previously a law- 
yer in good practice in Onondaga County, took charge of 
the editorial department of the paper, a post which he has 
filled with fidelity and marked ability to the present time. 
The second volume was greatly enlarged, and at its comple- 
tion the paper became the property of the New York Statr 
Baptist Missionary Convention, but the convention has since, 
at various times, leased and released its property and interest 
to the various publishers. The paper has been printed or 
published by Cephas Bennett, (for many years past a mis- 
sionary in Burmah), Dolphas Bennett and Edward Bright, 
jr. ; by Bennett, Backus & Hawley ; and for some years past 
by Dolphas Bennett. The Register is devoted to religiouf^ 



xxiii.] UTicA. G29 

intelligence, the discussion of religious questions, and the ad- 
vocacy of the peculiar views of the Baptist church, and is in 
:i highly prosperous condition. 

The Gospel JS'lQSSoiger was established at Auburn about 
llie first of February, 1827, by the late Rev. John C. lludd, 
3). D. About the year 1 835, this paper was removed to Uti- 
<!a, where it was conducted with the characteristic talent and 
wisdom of its venerable founder, until he was removed by 
death, and since that time, it has been under the edltorlii! 
1-harge chiefly of llev. AVilliam A. Matson. The Messenger 
is exclusively a religious newspaper, devoted to the Episcopal 
Ohurch. and is the organ of the bishop and convention of the 
diocese of Western New York. Dr. Rudd was a ripe scholar. 
:i sound theologian and fine writer, possessing a cultivated 
literary taste, and an intellect enriched by large acquirements. 
He possessed the most simple and gentlemanly manners, his 
temper was amiable, and his life was devoted to the principles 
;ind duties of his holy calling. 

The Sentinel and Gazette was owned by Messrs. North- 
way and Porter, and subsequently Rufus Northway owned 
and published the paper, and its successors the Oneida 
Whig and Daily Gazette. Theodore S. Gold was for seve- 
ral years editor of the Whig, and the Whig and Gazette 
were for a considerable period edited by Alexander Seward. 
Messrs. II. C. Potter and Erastus Clark are the present edi- 
tors. 

E. A. Maynard succeeded A. G. Dauby as publisher 
of the Observer, and the former was succeeded by Eli May- 
nard. Eli Maynard a short time before his decease sold his 
interest to John P. Bush, and in a short period Mr. Bush 



630 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

died while the owner of the paper. These two youug nuen 
were cut off in the morning of life, and the beginning of their 
usefulness. They were universally beloved and respected 
and were ornaments to their profession, to society, and the 
church of which they were members. John F. Kittle suc- 
ceeded Mr. Bush, and with him A. M. Beardsley became a 
partner, and subsequently Mr. K. sold the balance of his in- 
terest to J. M. Lyon, and Messrs. Beardsley and Lyon are 
the present publishers and editors. J. Watson Williams, 
Luther B.. Marsh, P. Sheldon Root, William L. Walradt. 
Morven M. Jones, Huet R. Boot, and may be others have. 
at different times, been the real or " irresjyonsiblc " editors of 
the Observer since Mr. Dauby ceased to be the ostensible 
editor, although it is well known that since then, in emer- 
gencies, he has lent his pen for the benefit of the paper and 
his party. 

The " Utica Democrat" was established about the 1st ot 
August, 1836, and for some time was mainly edited by John 
(j. Floyd. It originated in the political excitement which 
followed the distribution of the Oneida Bank stock and soEie 
other difficulties in the democratic party. It was published 
by Edward Morrin for several years and until his decease. 
For different periods Jarvis M. Hatch and Benjamin Welch, 
jr., were its editors, and for several years past DeWitt (\ 
Grove has been editor and publisher. 

The " Oneida Democrat " was established in Utica about 
the 1st of October, 1833, as the organ of a portion of the dem- 
ocratic party, called the " Rome party " the " anti-regency " 
party, etc., which had split ojf' the party that year, in oppo?!- 
rlon avowedly to prominent members of the party in Albany 
and Utica. styled the "Albany regency " and " Utica regency." 



xxni.] UTicA. 631- 

ThiB JDe}}iocrat was discontinued for want of support, after an 
existence of nearly two years. 

The Oneida Stcmdard was established at "Waterville, Oc- 
tober 25, 1833, as a democratic paper, occupying a common 
ground with the JJtica Observer^ with respect to divisions 
in the party. This paper was subsequently removed to Uti- 
ca, and after the extinction of the Democrat^ it assumed the 
name of " Standard and Democrat.''^ In the fall of 1835, al- 
ter changes in owners and editors, it became obnoxious for its 
advocacy of abolitionism, or doctrines and measures akin to it, 
in relation to slavery and the holding of the first anti-slavery 
f^tate convention in Utica, although it still kept the names of 
Van Buren and Johnson at its head ; and on the evening of 
the 21st of October, the printing office was entered by a mob 
and part of the typ6. etc., thrown into the street. 

The Stayidard and Democrat was succeeded by the 
'•Friend of Ma?ij'^ edited by William '(Joodell, and that by 
the " Liberty Press^^ cdite^d and published by Wesley Bailey, 
both organs of the anti-slavery party — and the latter was dis- 
continued about the 1st of October, 1849. The" Teetotaller:' 
a temperance paper, was established by Mr. Bailey at the last 
named date, and has continued in a flourishing condition, and 
is a popular, useful and well-conducted exponent of the prin- 
ciples of temperance. 

•• Tlie Lever''' a weekly paper, was established in Utica by 
William S. Spear, October 21. 1831, and discontinued 3Iay 
22, 1832. It started as a neutral literary paper, but in a few 
weeks came out as the advocate and defender of the United 
States Bank, a branch of which had been located in the 
place. 



632 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

On the 11th of August, 1814, an anouymous literary 
weekly paper was commenced in Utica, entitled '• The Club. 
by Henry Goodfellow, Esq., & Co." Its motto : •• Open tu 
all parties — influenced by none." A portion of the sheet wa.s 
devoted to original tales, essays, etc., which were very credita- 
ble, evincing considerable talent and good taste — while other 
portions were devoted to personal attacks and vulgar slaDg 
and blackguardism. So much incongruity could not prosper 
for its bad was none the better because its good was doubted. ' 
From the best information obtained, it seems that after vari- 
ous attempts to put an end to its existence by tliose who had 
been its victims, when let alone, like many other evils, it 
ceased to live for want of life. 

During the days of anti-niasoury, the '■'Elucidatory'' a po- 
litical anti-masonic paper, Avas published for several years iu 
Utica, and edited by B. B. Hotchkiu. 

The first daily paper in Utica was the " Daily Nnvsy' com- 
menced January 1, 1842, published by Joseph M. Lyon and 
John Arthur, and edited by C. Edwards Lester and Jarvi> 
31. Hatch. It was neutral iu politics, and for want of sup- 
]port and capital to give it a more extended trial, was dis- 
continued at the end of seven months. 

The Utica Daily Gazette was commenced the 1st of 
March. 1842, in connection with the Weekly Whig. 

The daily Oneida Morning Herald -was commenced about 
the first of December. 1848, by Messrs. llobert W. llobert^ 
and Richard U. Shearman, the former having charge of the 
publishing, and the latter of the editorial departments. The 
Weekly Ifc7-ald was established at the same time. For a 



XXIIl] VTICA.. 6o3 

short peyiod Erastus Clark was aissociated with BIr. Shear- 
man as assistant editor. Ellis H. lloberts is tlio present ed- 
itor and publisher. 

The daily Ulicd Observer was eonuueneed about the 20tli 
of May, 1S49, by Messrs. Kittle & Beardsley, and Messrs. 
Beardsley & Lyon arc the present editors and publishers. 
These are the only dailies which have yet been established in 
Utica, and the three which survive hold a respectable rank 
among their cotemporaries, arc apparently prosperous and 
have a good prospect of permanency. The Gazette and 
Herald are organs of the whig, and the Observer of the dem- 
ocratic parties. 

A long list of papers beyond those named, which Jtavc been, 
alight be compiled, of all sorts and sizes, good, bad and in- 
different, but it would possess little interest. A considerable 
number have been " campaign papers" published " until elec- 
tion," several children's and youths' papers, a few anonymous 
sheets, devoted to personalities, etc., etc.; such as are spring- 
ing up daily in our large towns and cities — but to the public 
at large their histories arc of little or no importance. 



[Correction. — On page 512, fifth line from bottom for "earlier," 
read " early."] 



634 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

VKRNON. 

Tins town, although settled at a later period than several 
other towns in the county, still contains much that is of in- 
terest to the historisn and general reader. In this town wa? 
situated Kanonwallohule, the principal village of the Oneida 
Nation, but as this tribe and village will be noticed in anoth- 
er place, anything farther of them will be omitted in thi? 
chapter. In the south part of this town was also a large In- 
dian orchard, noticed more fully at the close of this chapter. 

It has been often and truly said, that more wealth wa.s 
wrought into this town by its first settlers, than into any oth- 
*'r town in the county. The reason for this is obvious. The 
town ie located on each -side of what was originally the " south 
^Jenesee " or state road, afterwards the "Seneca turnpike." 
and now the Seneca plank road. For many years previous- 
.•y to the construction of the Erie Canal and Syracuse and 
rJtica rail road, this was the great thoroughfare from the 
valley of the Mohawk to the then far west, the " Genesee 
country," and a few years more recently the " Holland pur- 
chase." The lauds on and in the vicinity of this road, sold 
for a higher price per acre than those farther west, and those 
'.-migrants witli larger means, who wi.shed to avail them.«elveg 
of this location, paid the increased price, while those with, 
smaller capital, or perhaps with nothing but strong arms 
.and a firm resolution, struck deeper right and left into the 



XXIV."] I'ER^rON. 600 

forest, or " ten laile woods," as the Oneida Keservation -was 
termed, which reached from the westernmost settlements in 
Westmoreland to the Oneida village. On the east line of 
Vernon, upon the plank road, is Bleecker's south patent, one 
mile square. It was termed the " south patent" to distin- 
guish it from one of the same size, owned by the same paten- 
tee and located north-easterly some two miles in Westmore- 
land. South and south-westerly of Bleecker's Patent was 
Ba.schard's Patent, or as it was more usually called by the 
early settlers, " Baschard's location." This Patent contain- 
ed 4,911 acres. Vernon Centre is located upon it, and it 
extends nearly to Vernon Village. 

By an act passed April let, 1796. it was enacted as fol- 
lows: " Ar-id wheres.s, Abraham Van Eps has been very iri- 
strumental in forwarding the negociations between the agents 
aforesaid, [Philip Schuyler, John Cantine, David Brooks and 
John Richardson, agents appointed by an act entitled 'an act 
for the better support of the Oneida, Onondaga and Cayuga 
Indians'], and the Oneida tribe of Indians, and has made; 
them considerable pecuniary advances of which there is little 
prospect that he will be reimbursed. And whereas the said 
Indians have strenuously insisted with the said agents, that. 
they should in good faith recommend to the Legislature cor- 
taiu compensation to the said Van Eps, by a grant of a part, 
of the land, ceded by the said Indians to the people of th!!<- 
state, therefore, Be it further enacted^ that it shall and may 
be lawful to and for the said agents to set apart the following 
tract of land, to wit : a tract of two miles square, to be gran- 
ted unto Abraham Van Eps, which tract shall be part of the 
tract ptirchased from the Oneida tribe in 1795." " Arid be it 
further enacted^ that it shall be lawful for the said agents, 
and they are hereby required to lay out a tract of one mile 
square, adjoining the land called Stockbridge. for John Far- 



030 ANxNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CiUr. 

gcant, minister of the gospel, who now resides among the In- 
dians of Stockbridge aforesaid, and to certify the same to the 
commissioners of the laml office, who shall thereupon cause 
letters patent to be issued for the said tract of one mile square 
so laid out, thereby granting the same to the said John Sar- 
gcant and to his heirs and assigns forever." 

Van Eps' Patent is intersected by the present plank road, 
and Vernon Village is upon the easterly part of it. Sar- 
geant's Patent was located as dii'ected, and Avas on the high 
land between the Oneida and Scanaudoa Creeks, in the south 
part of this town. The remainder of the town was what was 
known as the "late Oneida lleservation," purchased of the 
Indians in 1795, and sold at auction in 1797, excepting the 
Oneida Village and a small tract of land adjoining, to which 
the Indian title has been more recently extinguished. 

First Scalers. — The first white inhabitant who " moved " 
within the limits of Vernon, was Josiah Bushnell. He set- 
tled upon the north-westerly corner lot of Bleecker's south 
i'atent. This lot of forty acres was sold to defray the ex- 
pense of surveying the Patent long anterior to the sale of the- 
remainder. Mr. Bushnell's purchase comprises a part of the 
farm of Ezra Dyer. Esq., situated directly opposite the 
house of Col. Grrove Lawrence. Mr. Bushnell emigrated to 
this town as early as 1794, and perhaps a year earlier, from 
Tyringham, Berkshire County, Mass. He Lad one son and 
three daughters. His youngest daughter Ficha Bushnell, a 
girl of six or eight years of age, died very suddenly, it is be- 
lieved in 1795, before any other white inhabitant had located 
in the town. Her remains were brought to Westmoreland, 
and interred in a burying ground on the farm of the late 
Judge Dean. This was the first death of a white person 
within the limits of Vernon. 



XXIV.] VERNON> 637 

As before st^Aed, in August, 1797, tlie OneMaHescrvation 
"was sold, and about the same time a company of wealthy far- 
mers in Connecticut purchased the easterly part of Bas* 
chard's location, and portions of Van Eps and Sargcant's 
Patents were also sold and purchased by actual settlers. A 
large portion of the town thus having come into market at 
about the same time, and the far-famed productiveness of the 
•earlier settled portions of the " Whitestown country" having 
been heralded in every nook and corner of the " land of 
steady habits," her hardy, enterprising inhabitants, in many 
instances, without taking the trouble to come and view thi.>< 
'fl dorado of their imagination, emigrated at once by dozens, 
and scores to the " Oneida woods." Massachusetts also con- 
tributed a " large sprinkling " to this shower of emigration, 
■while New Hampshire spared a portion of her indomitable 
sons of the Coos country, to settle Vernon. Very few lot.s 
in all the tracts mentioned, were so poor but that they were 
" taken up " by actual settlers in 1798, '99 and 1800. 

The names of the first settlers on Baschard's location were: 
Rev. Publius Bogue, Deacons Hills and Bronson, Samuel 
Wetmore, David Bronson, Levi Bronson, Seth Holmes, An- 
son Stone, Asahel Gridley, Heman Smith, Eliphaz Bissell, 
Adonijah Foot, Stephen ^loodwin, Seth Hills, Eli Frisbie. 
James De Votie, John De Votie, Samuel Austin, Ezra Stan- 
ard, Matthew Griswold, J-oseph Frisbie, David Alvord, Levi 
Thrall, Asahel Wilcox, Russell Church, Abijah P. Bronson, 
Thomaa Spencer, Stephen Carter, Benjamin Carter, Levi 
Marshall, Seth Marshall, Harvey Marshall, David Tuttle, a 
Mr. Bush, a Mr. McEwen, Huet Hills, Asahel Wilcoxson, 
Elijah Webber. 

These were all, or nearly all from the parish of Winsted, 
in the town of Winchester, and the town of Torrington, and' 
the pai'ish of Torringford, taken from it, Litchfield County. 



038 ANNALS OF ONEIDA CO'JWTY. [cHAP 

Connecticut. This company laid out a town plot in aa ob- 
long square of six acres, now known as Vernon Centre. On 
tliis green all protestant denominations have a right to erect 
meeting and school houses. Around- the green it was sur- 
veyed iuto one acre lots, and on tliese a number of these &T»t 
settlers located. The first settlers on Sargeant's Patent 
were the llev. John Sargeant the patentee, Mr. Codner. Mr. 
Marvin, Zenas McEwen and Ezra McEwen. 

On the Oneida Reservation, the first settlers were : Gide- 
on Skinner, Ariel Lawrence, Samuel Shed, Thomas Gratton. 
William Deland, Mr. Spalding, Mr. Grant, Mr. Kellogg, Na- 
than Carter, Thomas Tryon, David Moore, Josiah Simons. 
Joseph Doane, Ezra May, William Mahan, Stephen Page. 
Ebenezer Ingraham, Sylvester Crocker, Chester May, Jona- 
than Graves, Augustus Soper, Philo Soper. Ashbel Norton, 
i.'harles Dix, Rufus Vaughan, William Wright, Samuel Cody. 
Mr. Kelsey, Mr. Raymond, Mr. Ailing, Mr. Ilaseltine, Mr. 
Carpenter, Jacob Hungerford, Asbel Norton, Joseph Bailey, 
Jedediah Darling. These settled in the easterly part of the 
town, on the Reservation. 

Those in the south-westerly and westerly par-t of the 
town were : James Griffin, Ebenezer Webster, Elisha "Web- 
ster, Eli Webster, Russell- Webster, Allen Web&ter, Mr. 
. Freeman, Captain William Grant, Doct. Samuel Frisbie. Jo- 
seph Stone, Eliphalet Ilotchkiss, Joshua AYarren, Calvin 
Youngs, Simon Willard, Andrew Langdon, Edward Webber; 

Those in the north part of the town were : Amos Brock- 
way, Mr. Cole, Moses UphaiH, Aaron Davis, Jonathan Blount. 
Thaddeus Brookins, Joseph Day, Robert Frink, Stephen 
Campbell, Jonathan Ney, Calvin Huntington, Luther Hun- 
tington (twin brothers, like the Hubbells, of striking rasem- 
blance), and a Mr. Cook. 

On Van Eps' Patent the early wttlers were : Abraham 



XXIV.] VEHNON. 639 

Van Eps the patentee. Richard Hubbclk Grcrshom Ilubbeil. 
Benjamin Hubbeli, Gad Warner. Benjamin Fierson, Allan-' 
son Pieraon, David Pierson, Josiah Fattens William Koot 
and Elihu Root. 

Of these settlers, on Van Eps' Patent, PJchard Hubbeil 
was the earliest. In 1798, when the town commenced its 
rapid settlement he had resided some few years, perhaps 
three or four, on the ridge north of the glass factory, in the 
north part of Vernon Village. The author recollects- in that 
year to havR seen the log house in which he resided, and 
which was then considerably weather beaten, unmistalseable 
evidence that it had been built some years. The north Gen- 
esee road running near his residence wa.s at the time m.«ch 
travelled. Gersham; Hubbeil, w twin brother of Richard, 
and between whom there was a most striking resemblance, 
resided at the village before 1798. 

As has been stated, the first settlers on Baschard'slocation 
were from Litchfield; County. Conn, many others from the 
?ame towns and parishes settled in the other parts of the 
town. A considerable proportion of them were in the merid- 
ian of life, with families of children, and were old acquain- 
tances, neighbors and friends. New settlements are prover- 
bial for their unity and the sentiment of equality cherished 
by all. Here, to some extent isolated from the rest of the 
world; and enduring the privations consequent to their forest 
homes, friendships ripened into an union, bordering on broth- 
erhood. True, here, as in other communities^ they had the 
different religious creeds, and political platforms ; true, like 
all associations of poor fallen humanity, they had their minor 
difficulties, bickerings and heart burnings, yet rarely indeed 
h the community found, bound together, as this was, with the 
<tlose strong ligaments of affection. If an injury was received 
l>y a member from without the pale of their circle, they would. 



040 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

unitedly see that at least evenbanded justice was adminis- 
tered in the premises, and as they were a moral people, per- 
liaps they were quite excusable in finding the wrong oftener 
without than within their precincts. 

Their descendants in very many instances occupy their 
farms, and w'ith tiieir father's freeholds they have to a consid- 
erable extent, retained tlicir traits of character, their friend- 
ships and affections. 

Coming upon their new farms generally with more than 
sufficient money to pay for them, they were able to hire a por- 
tion of the improvements to be made. Notwithstanding, very 
few of the proprietors were found during the busy seasons of 
the first few years, out of the fashionable gear of all new set- 
tlements, to wit : the tow frock and pants, and in the logging 
seasons if these did not by their hue show that they had been 
in frequent contact with the blackened logs of the fallow, the 
wearer was considered a rather poor specimen of the pioneer. 
They were however exempt from many of the hardships and 
privations of the earlier settlers of the county. Mills suSi- 
-cient for their use had been erected in the neighboring towns 
and merchaiats and mechanics were Avithin their reach. Still 
their descendants can hardly appreciate the toil and self de- 
nial of their fathers. Luxuries were foregone and they la- 
bored with the most patient unremitting industry. Such 
was their economy of time, that if two barns were to be raised 
in the same neighborhood, matters were so arranged that they 
were framed and ready, and raised in the same afternoon, tc 
prevent an unnecessary hindrance from their labors. It was 
remarked to the author by one of these early emigrants when 
considerably advanced in years, that those early pioneers, in^ 
ured to toil in clearing the forests, would raise two barns in 
less time than it took their sons to raise one. 

Log houses were the order of the day. and usually for the 



XXIV.] ' VERNON. G41 

first year or two were covered with bark stripped from the 
basswoods, elms and hemlocks of their forests. These, how- 
over, soon gave way to small comfortable framed dwellings, 
and it was but a few years, before very respectable family 
mansions greeted the eye of the traveller through the town. 
The first marriage in the town, was that of Aaron Davw 
and Amy Bushnell. daughter of the first settler, Josiah 
Bushnell. The time of the wedding cannot be ascertained, 
but it was previous to 1798. The first child of emigrant pa- 
rentage born in town was Edward Marshall, son of Levi Mar-^ 
shall. He was born April 19th, 1799. About two weeks 
afterwards, it is believed, a daughter of Gershom ITubbell wa.« 
born, but of this there is some uucertaintv. 



The geology of the tovm is exceedingly simple. Comraou- 
clng on the Yerona line, upon the road leading fron Verona 
Village to Vernon Village, and from thence south-westerly 
on the former turnpike leading to Peterboro, we pass over 
in succession the Clinton, Niagara, Onondaga salt, water 
lime, and Onondaga limestone groups. In many places the 
rocks are seen in place by the road side : diverging a short 
distance on either hand from said roads, suffices to bring 
into view the five groups in the order named. 

The Clinton Grmip enters the town on the norlh-cast. 
In area it is wedge-shaped, its base of about three mik-.s, ly- 
ing upon the east line of the town. The mass as exposed i.s 
about four feet thick. 

The Niagara Grcnq) is next in order. It enters the town 
on the east, and follows nearly the line of the turnpike (now 
plank road), being seen at the east on the south side, and at 

41 



&i2 ANNAL3 OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

the west ou both sides. The first point expo.sod is in a field. 
near Calvary Wetmore's : it is next found in the bed of the 
Scanandoa. at Stone's factory, from whicli it may be traced 
in the bed of the stream as far down as the turnpike bridge. 
At J. L. Williams' grist-mill it is again found forming cliif;^. 
more or less precipitous, for two hundred rods, on both sides 
the creek. It is also .seen on the farm of C. Mcintosh, form- 
ing the bed of Mud Creek for a short distance. The upper 
layers are thick beds of impure limestone; the lower, (two- 
thirds of the whole), crumbling shale.^. The rocks, where ex- 
posed, ai'e from twenty to thirty feet thick, and highly con- 
cretionary throughout, concretions from half aii inch to three 
feet in diameter. 

The Onondaga Salt Groiip is more largely developed, it 
being thicker and more extensive in area than all the others 
Its northern boundary is but a short distance .south of the turn- 
pike, rising immediately above the blue limestone of Niagara 
group. It may be seen on all the ronds kading south frou. 
the turnpike ; on the slope above C. Wetmore's, at Stone's 
factory : at the house of Eliakim Iioot : on the farm of Ad- 
na Clark ; also of Clark 3IcIutosh. and finally at the Indian 
saw-mill. These localities arc all within a few rods of the 
turnpike. Its southern bounds are not as easily traced ; but 
on the south-east it nearly or quite approaches the Augusfet 
line, and as we descend into the valley of the Scanaudoa, it 
may be seen forming the bed of the creek, back of L. T. 
Marshall's, and may be traced westerly to the hills between 
iScaaandoa and Oneida Creeks ; then turning northerly it 
appears largely ou Sargeant's hill ; on the hill back of 3Ir 
Jacobs' ; and both sides of the hill at the Pixlcy school 
house. The lowest division of the group, consisting of red 
and green shales, \& well developed, No fossils have beea 
obsorved in this group in the town. 



XXiV.] ^'ENXON. 643 

The Water Lime Group is of very limited extent. The 
hill back of Mr. Jacob.s' is in part composed of it. It is seen 
;bovc Mr. Iluett's, and also near Mr. Flint'g. It is possibk 
it exists in the south-east part of the town. 

Tko Onondaga Limestone Group is more limited in ex- 
tent than the last, covering but an area of a few acres, cap- 
ping the hill back of Mr. Flint's, and appearing on the road 
from Mr. Flint's to Orris Freeman's. These rocks are the 
*liighest in the town, geographically as well as geologically. 
The fossils peculiar to the group are found here. In the 
above survey of the regular rock formations, the nomencla- 
ture adopted in the natural history of the state has been fol- 
lowed. It only remains to notice the drift. 

The Hudson River Group which lies a few miles north, 
itnd the Clinton Group lying upon the northern boundary of 
the town, seem to have been largely broken up. and their ma- 
terials constitute an abundant portion of the pebbles found 
in tlie fields. On that singular isolated hill, observed to the 
right of the road leading from Vernon Centre to Augusta 
were found many stones of the former group. The rocks of 
the Clinton group are mostly of a yellowish color, owing to 
I he decomposition of the sulphuret of iron. The banks of 
Blue abound in fragments of the Niagara limestone. The 
irreat mass of drift seems to be derived from these three for- 
mations, beds of sand, gravel, pebbles, clay ; sometimes ar- 
ranged in singular order, one above the other, and again 
)uixed in all conceivable proportions. Sometimes clay pre- 
dominates, and perhaps on the farm adjoining, sand; then a 
little further on, both mixed in such a way as to constitute a 
.soil most desirable for tillage. This town furnishes eonclu- 
.^l^e evidence of great northerly currents sweeping over it for 
long periods of time. In the north part of the town stiff 
clays predominate, but nevertheless, when well drained aod 



644 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr. 

plowed, they produce heavy crops of grass, corn, oats and 
barley. In the south, on the flanks of the hills, the soil it^ 
better adapted to wheat. The reader is referred to the nat- 
ural history of the state for an analysis of the soil composing 
the different groups. 

The general directions of the streams is northerly, until 
they pass the centre of the town, when those in the eastcrl}- 
section turn north-easterly, and reach the Atlantic by tlio 
way of the Mohawk and Hudson ; while those in the wester- 
ly part take a northwesterly course and reach the same 
ocean by the way of the Oneida and Ontario lakes, and 
the river St. Lawrence, Vernon Village is more than two 
hundred feet higher than the Erie Canal on the long level 
opposite. 

The foregoing is extracted from a geological survey of the 
town, made by A. Williams, late principal of the Vernon 
Academy. It is highly creditable to the enterprising far- 
mers and other inhabitants, that they have procured a scien- 
tific geological survey of their town, the only instance, it is 
believed, in which it has been attempted by any town in th<' 
county. Gypsum is found in the bottom of wells one and a 
half miles south-west of Vernon Village. It lies too deop 
to be procured profitably for agricultural purposes. 

There is a mineral spring about one mile north-westerly 
from Vernon Centre. It contains most of the minerals found 
In the water of the Verona spring, and contains considerable 
portions of muriate of soda, (common salt). Tradition says 
that the Indians formerly manufactured salt in small quanti- 
ties from this spring. While Vernon was covered with its 
native forests, this spring was a great resort for deer, and 
many of these antlered commoners of the wilderness havr 
here been way-laid and transfixed by the " ell-long shafts " 
from the bows of the aborigines. 



XXIV.] VERN"ON. G45 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 



The first religious society in the town of Vernon was form- 
nd, it is believed, in 1801. Possibly, as the records have been 
lost, this date may be incorrect by one year, but from the 
best information obtained, it is believed to be correct. This 
was a Congregational church at Vernon Centre, and for 
whom the Rev. Mr. Bogue preached some time. Mr. Bogue 
was followed by a number of clergymen, all of whom were en- 
gaged for short periods, and it is believed there is no religious 
society in the county that has had the services of as many 
preachers as this. The Rev. Calvin Bushnell onme to Vor- 
iion in 1811, and preached to this people and the Presbyte- 
rian church at Vernon Village, until 1817, when he was set- 
tled over the latter church and society. 

Although the church at Vernon Centie was Congregation- 
it 1 at its formation, yet by adopting the " accommodating 
plan," they became to some extent connected with the Prcs 
byterians, but a number of years since they voted to again a.s- 
sume the Congregational form of government, and now be- 
long to the Oneida Congregational Association. In 1839, 
they took down their first meeting hou.se, and rebuilt it iu 
fur better style and taste. 

In 1842, a difficulty arose in the church, which, anon, le 
came so sharp, that the two parties, like Paul and Barnabas, 
.separated. The abolition question had much to do with this 
unhappy division. Those who separated from the main body 
Lave a separate organization, under the name of Independent 
(Jongregationalists. They take a much more decided and 
strong ground as a church on the slavery question, than the 
l>ody from which they dissented believed it their duty to as- 
sume. At present the Rev. Mr. Avery is the pastor of the 
church maintaining worship in the church edifice. 



646 AKNAL6 OF ONEIDA C0T7NTY. [CIIAP. 

Methodist Episcopal C/turch at Vernon Centre. This so- 
ciety was formed in 1826. In 1828, they erected a neat and 
convenient house for public worship, which was dedicated in 
January, 1829. In the summer of 1850, the steeple of this 
house was struck by lightning, which demolished the spire 
above the belfry, without materially injuring the remainder of 
the steeple or the body of the house. This society has been sup- 
plied by local preachers, who have been stationed here for u 
year or two at a time, as, by the rules of the denomination, 
the same preacher is not allowed to remain more than two 
years on the same station. The society has eVer been pros- 
perous. 

At Vernon Village there arc Presbyterian, Baptist, Meth- 
odist and Unitarian chnrches, all with commodious hous4js for 
public worship. 

The first organized was in June, 1805, and named the 
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Society. In 1815, their present 
house of worship was built by subscription. It is a large 
and comyiodious structure, with a steeple and bell. In 181 G, 
the Rev. Calvin Bushnell, who had previously divided hi.-* 
.services between this church and that at Vernon Centre, com- 
menced preaching exclusively to this people, and in 1817 wa* 
installed, and assumed the pastoral charge, the societie.x 
each, having become able to sustain a preacher. In 1829. 
after thirteen years of labor, Mr. Bushnell was dismissed and 
removed with quite a colony from the town of Vernon to Lip- 
bon, in the state of Illinois. He yet survives, although from 
the weight of years, he has suspended his pastoral labors ar 
that place. In the same year in which Mr. Bushnell wa:« 
dismissed, the Rev. Aaron Garrison was settled as pastor over 
this church and society. Mr. Garrison was succeeded by thf- 
Rev. H. P. Bogue. In January, 1840, Mr. Bogue resigned 
his pastoral charge, and in April of the same year the Rev. 



XXIV.] VERNON. C47 

R. C. Brlsbln was settled as pastor, and continued in tlie dis- , 
charge of the duties until 1845. From that time until 1S4S, 
the church had no pastor, but theRcv. Henry Darling preach- 
ed for them one year of the time. In March, 1847, the Ptev. 
Isaac P. Stryker received a ca'll to become their pastor, and 
was settled the foilowing April, and Mr. &tryker yet contin- 
ues in the discharge of the pastoral duties. The church at 
the present time numbei's about 200 members. 

The Baj^tiat Ckurclt at Yernon Village was constituted 
October 22, 1807. The first book of records of this church, 
which extended from its formation up to 1S39, has been lost, 
and as all of \i^ original members are either dead or removed 
10 the far west, little except the names of its pastors can be 
gleaned up to that date. 

Names of pastors: Rev. Messrs. Calvin Phileo, J. (:'. 
Harrison, N. X. Whiting, J. J. Fulton, William Pepper, J. 
W. Gibbs, J. P. Simmons, Demas Robinson, A. Kenyon, 
Seymour W. Adams, P. Goo, who resigned his charge in the 
spring of 1850, and the Rev. Mr. Wells is at present the 
pastor. 

In a revival which occurred in 1839, sixty-seven members 
were received by baptism ; in 1840, twenty by baptism, and 
in 1842, forty by baptism. Whole number received into the 
fellowship of the church by baptism since January 1, 1839. 
is 132. Present number of members ninety-four. 

The Unitarian Congregational Society of Vernon was or- 
ganized in March, 1841. A church edifice formerly owned 
and used by the Oneida Indians (who were Episcopalians), 
and standing on the hill south-easterly from the butternut or- 
chard in the vicinity of Oneida Castle, was purchased by the 
new eoeiety. removed and re-erected in Vernon Village, at a 



618 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

cost of about $3,000. It wa.s dedicated to the worship of 
•• one God the Father, through Jesus Christ his Son," Septem- 
ber :20th, 1842. August 31, 1843, Rev. Henry Emmons of 
IJoston, Mass., took the pastoral charge of the society, and 
continues in that relation to the present time. Between six- 
ty and seventy families are connected with the societ}^ Ser- 
vices are holdeu in the church in Yeruon Village every 
Sunday, except the last in each month, when they arc held 
ill the school house at Oneida Castle. The society is free 
from debt. 

The same bell that used to call the ludiiuns to worship. 
i.s still iu the steeple of this church. A few years since some 
of the Oneidas, who had emigrated to (ix'een Bay, returned to 
visit the play grounds of their youth, the seat of their tribe, 
around which so many fond recollections clustered. On this 
visit some of them were at the village, when the sound of their 
eld bell greeted their ears, while their glistening moistened 
eyes evinced their deep feeling on hearing its well remembcr- 
c-ii tones. 

There is a Jlrt/wdist Episcojja/ L^ocidy at A'ernon Vil- 
lage, with a respectable house of worship. Tliis society is of 
but few years standing, and has regular preaching, by a local 
preacher. 

There is also a small society oi Fresli/tcriayis at the Onei- 
da Castle, with quite a respectable church edifice which has 
bceu ©rganiaed within the last twenty years. 

February 17th, 1802, the town of Vernon was organized 
by an act of the Legislature, and the first town meeting di- 
rected to be held at the house of David Tuttle. This town 
laccting was held in pursuance of the law, on the first Tues.- 



XXIV.J VERNON. 649 

day in April, 1802, at which Samuel Wetmore, Esq., was 
elected supervisor, and Josiah Patten, town clerk. These 
offices were held by thcni for nine successive years. In 18 1 1 , 
Jo.siah Patten, Esq., was elected supervisor, and Stephen 
( ioodwin, town clerk. l]squire Patten held the office of supcr- 
vi.'^or until 1819, when he was succeeded by John P. Sher- 
wood, Esq. Mr. Gcoodwin died previously to the town 
meeting in 1813., when Asahel Gridley was elected town 
clerk. Mr. Gridley performed the duties of town clerk until 
1824, Avhen he was succeeded by Stephen Brigham, jun. Mr. 
• iridley was the father of the Hon. Philo Gridley, at present 
one of the judges of the supreme court of this state. Mr. 
Gridley buUt the first grist-mill in the town, on the Scanan- 
doa Creek, a little west of Yernon Centre. Mr. ^'an Eps 
built the second, shortly after, at V^ernon Village. John P. 
Sherwood held the office of supervisor up to 1830. Since 
tJiat time James Kellogg, Nichols Dyer, Austin B. Webber. 
Salmon Case, David PiersMi, nira)u Tuttle and Josiah Case 
have held that office for different periods. Josiah Case is the 
present incumbent, having been elected in the spring of ISol. 

Local Names. — Turkey Street is the name given to that 
portion of the plank road commencing a few rods east of the 
hau.se of Barnes Davis, and extending west to, and including 
wliat was formerly the Young's tavern, now owned by Capt 
Elijah Wilson. It received its name from the circumstance, 
that some of the first settlers here, "fellows of the baser sort," 
went to the Oneida Castle in the night time, and stole a num- 
lK;r of turkeys from the Indians. The theft and the names 
of the culprits having become public, the circumstance waa 
considered of sufficient importance in the eyes of the commu- 
nity by whom they were surrounded, to give to this part of 
the road on which the bird stealers resided, the name of 



'aBd ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

'• Turkey Street." Griginally it did not comprehend as muck 
territory as at present. Its eastern boundary was a large 
hemlock tree, standing on the south side of the plank road, 
easterly from the present residence of Joseph Stone, and wes- 
terly from the house of Capt. William Grant, now owned by 
Barnes Davis. A few years .after this tree had been estab- 
lished as the boundary, it fell, but its prostrate trunk still 
marked the eastern terminus of the " street." After a quiet 
r-epose of a few years, it was decided in a council of the inhab- 
itants that Capt. Grant must needs have a residence with 
them, and as the tree could be more easily removed than the 
Captain's doraicil, the council further decreed, that on the 
following night a sufficient force in teams should be muster- 
ed to accomplish the obj.cct. As the oxen belonging to the 
'■■street" were found insufficient, a messenger was sent east on 
the Genesee, now the plank road, as far as Joseph Tillotson's. 
who lived on the south-east of the four corners, formed by 
t/he road from A^ernon Centre to Rome, crossing the Genesee 
r<mi. In this way, twelve yokes of sturdy oxen were mustered 
at the hour of low twelve, and soon the tree was on the move, 
and without noise or accident it was safely moored some thir- 
ty rods east of Captain Grant's dwelling. The captain's sur- 
prise the next morniiig when he arose, on finding himself en- 
titled to all the privileges and immunities of a citizen of Tur- 
key Street, can well be imagined, but without complaint he 
made a virtue of necessity. 

After this street had been in undisputed possession of its 
name for at least a quarter of a century, another decree wa? 
promulgated by its good people, in the words of the old song : 

•' If we can't change the thing, 

Why then we'll change the name, sir." 

The glorious Foui'th was put in requisition for the occasion. 



X5nV.] VERNON G5l 

a celebrafion extensively notified, hundreds of the good peo- 
ple assembled, and the " street" was duly named " Union Vil- 
lage," any amount of rum drank, and powder burned, and the 
good people bore the honors of their new title meekly until 
the going down of the sun of the same day, but on awaking 
the next morning they found themselves still existing in 
the goodly quiet village of " Turkey Street," and its name 
remains unchanged to the present time. Justice, however, 
compels the historian to add, that none of the actors, who 
were the cause of this discourtly name, or their posterity, 
have resided in the place for many years, and its present in- 
habitants are as good and virtuous, as in any of her sister lo- 
calities in the town. 

'• Cooper Street " runs parallel with, and from one to two 
miles north of the Seneca plank road, it being the road from 
Vernon Village to the Westmoreland furnace and Hampton. 
It received its name from the circumstance that most of its 
original settlers were adepts in the art and mysteries of tlie 
cooper's trade. As they were worthy mechanics, of course 
nothing approbrious was attached to the name. 

" Hovel " or "Webster Street." — This street runs from the 
former residence of William Root, Esq., about two miles 
south-westerly from Vernon Village, and from thence soutli 
to Sargeant's patent. The first name was given from the fact 
that quite a proportion of the dwellings of the first settlers 
were built in hovel style^ that is, the roof was without a i-idge. 
the front portion of the building being the highest, the whole 
roof moderately pitched from front to rear. The second 
name was given to the same locality for the reason that the 
five first settlers by the name of Webster, a portion of whom 
had large families, all settled side by side on this street. 
These names are neither of them in general use at the pres- 
ent day. 



05-ii ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP-. 



ACCIDENTS. 

A son of Mr. Haseltine one of the first settlers, who resi- 
ded southerly from Vernon Centre, was chopping some little 
distance from his father's house. As was the custom with the 
careful wives, mothers and sisters of the times, young Hasel- 
tine's mother on hearing a tree fall, attentively listened to 
hear the renewal of the blows of the axe, a token that would 
assure her all was well. A short space of silence was suffi- 
• •tent to arouse the fears of the anxious mother, and she has- 
tily repaired to the fatal spot, where she found her son dread- 
fully crushed, alive, but bereft of reason. Help was soon 
])iocurcd and the young man was conveyed to the house^ 
where death soon closed his sufferings. He was about seven- 
t(!cn years of age. 

Josiah Patten, Esq., was one of tlie pioneers of Westmore- 
land, and early emigrated to Van Eps' patent, a short half 
mile west of Vernon Village. A lad by the name of John 
Kobinson, well known to the author, lived Avith Esquire Pat- 
ten In AVestmoreland, and removed with him to Vernon. 
Within two or three years after their removal to Vernon, 
llobinson was chopping down a tree on Esquire Patten'* 
fajm, and from some inexplicable cause, as the tree com- 
menced falling he became frightened, and entirely bereft of 
reason. He ran in a circular manner more than half round 
tiie tree, and arrived under it just as it reached the ground, 
and was crushed immediately to death. A striking admoni- 
tion to all, never, under the most trying exigencies, to lose 
their self possession and the power of rational action. Had 
llobinson stood still, or stopped at any other place in his cir- 
cuit, he would have been safe. 



XXIV.] VERNON. 693 



The first school taught in the town of Vernon was at the 
Centre. A log building had been erected for the purpost-, 
and the first teacher was a Mr. Sessions, now a merchant of 
Newport, Rhode Island. 

The first framed school house was erected at Vernon Vil- 
lage soon after 1798. It was used as a school house and for 
a few years as a house of worship. The common schools of 
Vernon have been as well sustained and as flourishing, as in 
most towns in the county. 

There are two academies iti the town, one at Vernon Vil- 
lage the other at Oneida Castle. The one at the village has 
a good substantial stone building two stories above the base- 
ment. It is respectably endowed and has a good standitip; 
among the academic institutions of the county. The same 
may be remarked of the academy at Oneida Castle. The 
young gentlemen at that place deserve much credit for well 
sustaining a Lyceum through the winter season for a num- 
ber of years. 

Abraham Van Eps was born in the city of Schenectady in 
1763. His father was extensively engaged in the far trade. 
As soon as the revolutionary contest was closed, the father to 
renew his business which had been suspended by reason of 
the war, embarked with a large amount of property for the 
Canadian shore of Lake Ontario. Here he was plundered 
of the whole by a party of refugees and Indians, who, aK 
though hostilities had closed, could not at once forget the re- 
sentments engendered, by so long and bloody a contest. He 
never returned, and his death, and the causes which immedi- 
ately led to it, haA'e ever been veiled in mystery. On exam- 
ination it was found that his all of property was irretrieva- 



'&54 AM?TALS OF ONEIDA COUXTT. [CHAP. 

bly lost. This left the subject of this sketch at twenty years 
of age, with nothing with which to commence in life, but hia 
native Dutch perscTcrance, and a good constitution, fitted bj 
nature and habits of indu,stry, to withstand all the priva- 
tions and vicissitudes of a border life. In the spring of 1784. 
having concenti'ated his little means in a few goods proper 
for the Indian fur trade, he pushed boldly, by way of the 
Mohawk, Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, Oswego and Lake On- 
tario, through the country as far as Niagara. He passed 
through Oneida County before judges Dean or White had 
arrived. He returned iu the fall, and in passing down the 
old military road, through what is now Whitesboro Village. 
found his way impeded by the trunks and limbs of the trees 
felled by Judge White and his sons, who had in his absence 
commenced the settlement of Whitestown. In 1785, Mr 
Van Eps came to the mouth of the Oriskany and commenced 
a small trading establishment at that place. His goods were 
mostly selected for the Indian trade, and hi.s principal busi- 
ness was in bartering them fov furs and peltries. He occa- 
sionally used to take a pack of his commodities and proceed 
to the Indian settlements at the Oneida Castle and vicinity, 
nnd stay three or four days a-t a time, trafficking his good^^ 
for tiie, to him, more valuable skins acquired by the natives' 
in trapping and hunting. On one of these occasions he pass- 
ed a night with an Indian, who, with a portion of Gallic blood 
in his veins, bore the French sobriquet of Nicholas Jourdan. 
His wigw.am was on the west side of the Scanandoa Creek. 
lYCSt from Vernon Centre, and on the farm formerly owned 
l;>y Abijah P. Bronson, and now owned by Jared C. Petti- 
booe, Esq. The creek was high, there having been just pre- 
viously a heavy fall of rain. In the course of the evening- 
and night, quite a party of Oneida Indians were engaged in 
ti'sliiiigj and in the morning when Mr. Van Eps went abroad. 



XXIV.] VERr«orj. G5i5 

lie saw a pile of about half a cord of fine salmon that had 
been speared by them during the night, by torch-light. One 
of these most luscious of the finny tribe, formed the more 
substantial portion of Mr. Tan Ep.^ morning meal. There 
were a few apple trees on Jourdan's improTement. and as he 
removed to the Oneida a few years after the settlement of 
the county, the produce of these became a sort of free plun- 
der, and the author remembers as among the first luxuries 
of the kind, of having eaten apples, miserable as they were, 
which he procured at " Nicholas' lower place." During our 
journey to and from these apple trees, we passed the "Plat" 
on which Vernon Centre now stands, and at that time the 
p5ule laces had not there felled the first tree. Jourdan had 
another clearing on the east side of the creek higher up, and 
on the farm now owned by Elisha Pettibone, Esq.. it lying 
east of his mill and distillery. This, in the parlance of the 
early times was called " Nicholas' upper place."' It is hoped 
this digression will be pardoned. 

How long Mr. Van Epa continued his business at Ori^- 
kauy cannot be ascertained, but it is believed it was closed 
in 1787. When he left that place he built a small log store 
on the farm of Judge Dean, on the bank of the small stream 
near the present saw-mill of Luke C. Dean, in Westmoreland. 
In 1792 or '3, he built the ancient looking yellow building, 
still standing on the hill, a little noi-th of the Westmoreland 
furnace. In a portion of this building he established himself 
as a merchant, and in the other he commenced house keep- 
ing, having been previously married to a Miss Young, of 
Schenectady. He here continued the Indian trade, also fur- 
nishing most of the first settlers of Westmoreland with the 
little of " dry-goods, groceries, hardware and crockery," that 
they needed. He was the first merchant in that town. He 
had well learned the Oneida tongue, and transacted his busi- 



65G ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAP. 

ness with them in their native Linguagc. As has been stated 
'• in consideration of his having been instrumental in forward- 
ing negociations with the Indians, and having made consider- 
able pecuniary advances, of which there is little prospect that 
lie will be reimbursed," " And the said Indians have stren- 
uously insisted that the Legislature make compenpation by a 
grant of a part of the land ceded to the people of this state:'' 
the Legislature authorized the Indian agents to set apart a 
tract of land, etc. Mr. Van Eps at once resolved to com- 
mence the settlement of his patent. He accordingly built a 
store on the flat, in the east part of Yernon Village, between 
the Scanandoa Creek and the present dyke of the grist-mill. 
In this building Grershora Hubbell kept a tavern for a short; 
time, for the accommodation of the emigrants, by this timi- 
pouring into the " Genesee country "' and the iuter;nediati' 
■counties. 

In 1798, having built a small framed dwelling which i^ 
•now the back part of the house of the widow Kirtland, he 
removed to Vernon and opened his store. Mr. Van Ep? 
was emphatically the first merchant. His store in Oriskanr 
was the first in that village, as well as the first in tlie town 
of Whitestown, and within the limits of Oneida County, 
his store in Westmoreland was the first in that town, and now 
for the third time he opened the first in Vernon. His near- 
er contiguity to the Indians gave him an extensive business 
with them. Although in many instances he lost considera- 
ble sums in trusting them, yet his profits on his goods, and 
the still greater on the furs received for them, enabled him to 
sustain himself and amass a handsome property. In 18(K>. 
he removed to Schenectady. He however continued in bu- 
siness as a partner for a time in Vernon, but eventually en- 
tirely withdrew from the mercantile business and relinquish- 
ed it to others. In 1828, he buried his wife, and in 182^), 



XXIV.] VERNON. 057 

after an absence of twenty j'ears, removed back to Lis beloved 
Vernon. The same year he was again married to Miss Sa- 
rah Underhill. In the enjoyment of that quiet, so grateful 
to the aged, after a life of uncommon activity and toil, he 
spent the last years of his life. He died in 1844. His fu- 
neral was attended with that deep feeling that evinced the 
Iiigh estimation in which he was held. The inhabitants of 
Vernon Village ever looked up to him with the reverence 
due a father, and he looked upon the village as his child, 
and its people as his children. If any subscription was nec- 
essary for the prosperity of the place, he always headed it 
liberally. He had no children by his first marriage. His 
liberality to his relatives was great, and many young men , 
•nthers as well as relatives, were helped by him to start in bu- 
siness. By his second marriage he had two daughters, who 
with their mother survive him. While he resided in West- 
moreland, he was honored by his fellow citizens, with a seat 
in the state assembly. He was a man distinguished for the 
strictest integrity. The author remembers in his boyhood to 
have heard him gtyled the '• honest merchant " by the first 
settlers in the county. 

Samuel Wetmore, Esq., the first supervisor of this town, re- 
moved to the town in 1804, and deservedly ranked as among 
her best citizens. At the time of his d-eath he had been for 
seventeen years one of the deacons of the Baptist church at 
Vernon Village, having held the appointment from the form- 
ation of that body. He was elected to the assembly in or .n,bout 
1S20. He was a magistrate for many years, and his acts 
were characterised by independence and impartiality. Ho 
died November 8th, 1826, aged sixty years. 

The following obituary notice, copied from the Vhra 

42 



658 ANNALS OF ONEiDA COUNT i". [cJHAP. 

Gazette^ is all of the histovj of Esquire Root, possessed by 
the author : 

'■Died at Vcraon, Aug;i>t 15. 18iG. Wiiliam Root, Eiq.. aged sov- 
enty-eight j^ears. 

The deceased was no ordinary man. Born in Great Barrir.gtcn, 
Mass., he came into the county of his last residence about fifty years 
ago, and \yas one of the earliest settlers of the town of Vernon. Ei; ■ 
doweia with a strong and well balanced mind, and gifted wit!, a po])- 
uiar address, he was frequently honored by his fellow citizens with 
important offices, which he filled with great ability, and deserved ap- 
probation. In the year 1821, he was chosen a member of assembly. 
In this body he was distinguislied by shrewdness and gooti sense. 
Proverbial for his honesty, in him the poor and oppressed found a 
friend. In early life he became attached to the school of Washington, 
to which he strictly adhered. 

In religion he was pious without noise, and resigned without osten- 
tation; and during a long sickness he was eminently calm and com- 
posed, and on the verge of his dissolution, he took an aSectlonaf j 
lea%'e of his family circie, like a travelicr bound to a distant country, 
and without a struggle or a groan, yielded his unclouded spirit tc his 
Maker, in a lively \\<y^i of a. blessed inim(.»rtaiity. ' 

Gideon Skianer is believed to be the earliest inliabitant of 
the town now living, he resides on the farm on which he flrstr 
settled. A young man and unmarried, with a wallet of pro- 
visions, he pushed into the forest in advance of any .settler. 
The first day he built a frail hut for his abode and con-v 
menced cutting the timber around it. Ju.st at sun.set. for 
the first time, a thought of his exposed position, as to wild 
beasts, came over him, for he was without dog or gun. Ou 
the spur of the occasion, he fell to work, and cut down a large 
hollow elm which stood near his hut. He firmly barricaded 
with heavy timbers the open end, leaving but a small aper- 
ture for his ingress, and providing a sufiicicut log with which 
to stop that when he had entered. With his trusty axe, with 



Ti\lV.{ VERNON. 659 

■which to '-pair the nails" of any assailant that might attempt 
the removal of the defences, he retired early to rest, and slept 
quietly and soundly through the night, naught in the least 
disturbing his repose. He says, this was all of fear he ever 
experienced in his forest home. Mr. Skinner was the first 
person who ever lodged at Vernon Centre. During the first 
sear-on of his T-psidence on his farm, business called him from 
his home to the westward. He supposed that he had started 
sufficiently early to enable him to return before dark, but he 
was mistaken. It was a dark cloudy evening, and when he 
arrived at the Centre, he found it utterly impossible to thread 
his way through the tangled forest, and find his little improve- 
ment that night. It not being very cold, he concluded to 
take lodgings by the side of a large log that lay on the ground, 
which was afterwards covered by the first meeting house 
built upon the town plat. "What were his dreams or sleep- 
ing cogitations, as he slept without canopy, save the clouds 
<.>f heaven, on the ground where he has since for many 
years so fervently worshipped the God of his fathers is not 
knowii. 

Thefoliowiog epitaph is copied from the headstone in the 
burying ground near the late residence of Mr. Sergeant. 

' in Mrmory of 

REV. JOHN SERGEANT, 

Mi8.sioiiary to the 

Stockbridge Indians, 

During 36 years. 

He departed this life 

Sept. 7th, 182-1, 

Ag-ed 70 years. 

B'eised is that .servant who 

liis Lord when he comethshaU. 

find so doing.'' 



660 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

In the south part of Vernon, upon the first settlement of 
the county, was found an Indian orchard containing some 
liundreds of large and apparently aged apple trees, and in no 
place did there appear to have been any attempt at regularity 
in planting them. By whom planted is now probably be- 
yond the research of the antiquarian. In the history of the 
town of Augusta (Chap. IV.), the Indian settlement near 
John Curry's is noticed, and Elijah Wampy one of the most 
noted of the Brothertown Indians is mentioned. He inform- 
ed some of the earliest settlers of Augusta, that the apple 
trees near Mr. Curry's, had been planted eighty-four years, 
when that town was first settled, but did not state from whom 
the infoi'mation was derived, and it was certainly anterior to 
the emigration to the vicinity of the Oneidas, of either the 
Brothertown or Stockbridge Indians. If Wampy was cor- 
rect in his data, it fixes the origin of the orchard, at about the 
time the Tuscaroras emigrated to this region, in 1712 and 
1714. These Indians had their principal villa^ on the Onei- 
da Creek, where the Stockbridge Indians located themselves 
when they removed to this section of country, the Tuscaro- 
ras having just left for Niagara. The Stockbridge Indians 
as is well known came in 1784. When the first settlers ar- 
rived in Oneida County, and for a few years afterwards. 
Stockbridge was known as Tusearora. The probability 
therefore is that the apple trees at Curry's, and the orchard 
in the south part of Vernon, were the works of the Tuscaro- 
ras. and as they and the land where they grew were not in- 
cluded in the six miles square granted by the Oneida nation 
to the Stockbridge Indians, they and the clearings around 
them were left unoccupied and vacant, and that branch of the 
Oneida tribe which resided at Oriskany. and left that place 
two or three years after Judge White came to Whitesboro, 
came and settled on them. Cornelius mentioned in the no- 



XXIV. J VERNON. 661 

tice of Augusta, as residing near Curry's, was a son of tlio 
Sachem, Col. Han Yerry. Hendrick Smith, the relative of 
Cornelius, who settled at the orchard, was also an emigrant 
from the Oriskany. Upon the first settlement of Vernon, a 
cider-mill, the first in the town, was erected at this place. 
The caterpillars and the great age of the trees combined, 
have caused the entire destruction of this orchard, there not 
being a half dozen trees left alive, and these probably of a 
second stock. 



GG2 ANNAL8 OF ONEIDA CO-UNTY. [CHAP. 



CHAPTER XXV 



In area this is the largest town in the county. It is esti- 
mated to be twelve miles square, equal to four medium sized 
towns of six miles square. 

Greorge A. Smith, who was better known in his time by the 
Dutch sobriquet of Yearry Smith, was the first settler within 
the limits of the town. His location was near where the 
Oneida Creek empties into the lake. On Christmas eve. 
1791, he with his family arrived at Jonathan Dean's tavern 
in Westmoreland, and the next day started for his destined 
place of residence. Such was their snail-like pace, occasioned 
by deep snow, and intervening swamps and thickets, that eight 
days were consumed in the journey (now hardly three hours' 
drive), and they reached their new home January 1st, 1792. 
Mr. Smith lived about eleven years after his arrival, and in his 
day he was somewhat prominent as a pioneer settler. His 
daughter Elizabeth, now the widow Wright, and his son Rulof, 
emigrated with him, and yet reside within the town, and con- 
sequently are its " oldest inhabitants." By their old family 
record, it appears that George A. Smith had a daughter, Eve 
Smith, born March 25th, 1795." She was the first white 
child born in Verona. 

The next settler was Asahel Jackson, who removed from 
Berkshire County, Mass., and settled at the estuary of Wood 
Creek, in May, 179G. He erected his house near the old 



XXV. ] VERONA. oCo 

military works, known as the " Royal Block House." He 
soon opened a publi-e house for the accommodation of the 
boatmen who crossed from the Mohawk to Wood Creek, 
Oneida Lake, etc. Mr. Jackson lived a little more than ten 
years after his arrival, and after his death his widow contin- 
ued the tavern for another ten years, when she married a man 
named Eggleston. Soon after, the construction of the Erie 
Canal turned all the business into another channel, and tav- 
ern keeping was given up for the want of patronage. In its 
day, the tavern of Jackson, and afterwards of widow Jack- 
son, equalled in notoriety some of our best kept hotels of the 
present time. When Mr. Jackson located himself at the 
" Royal Block House," with the exception of Mr. Smith, he 
had no white neiglibor within eighteen miles. The wife of 
this early settler, now the widow Eggleston, resides with a 
daughter at South Vienna Village. 

La Whiten De Wardenou, a Frenchman, was the next set- 
tler. The precise time of his arrival cannot be ascertained, 
but it is believed to have been in 1796, or early in 1797. 
He settled at a place called " Oak Orchard " on Wood Creek. 
There is much of romance in the history of this family. De 
Wardenou and wife were from families of considerable rank 
in France. As the author himself deals in naught but sober 
realities, he hopes and trusts his readers will excuse him for 
inserting the following, founded on this family. 

This little fiction soon after its first appearance, a few 
years since, was copied into the Rome Sentinel^ and was read 
with great interest by the inhabitants of Verona and con- 
tiguous parts of this and the adjoining counties. 



664 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. fCHAP. 

[From the American Lady's Album.] 
CELESTE : A ROMANCE OF ONEIDA LAKE 

BY J. M. T. TL'CKER. 

[Suggested by remarks of H. Baldwin, Esq., at the Plank Road 
celebration, Brcwcrton.] 

CHAPTER I. 

"They flee! 
Cut see ! Why turn they now to gaze, 
Upon the gloomy, reddening sky 1 " 

Early in the evening of a pleasant day in April, 1793. 
might have been seen in a richly furnished parlor in Havre, 
a young lady of moderate staituro and moderate personal at- 
tractions. A close examination however, revealed a mind 
whose powers were developed in one of the most intellectual 
pair of eyes ever placed beneath a brow. These, although 
not the only tokens of intelligence, never failed to impress 
the observer when they met his own, with the superiority of 
their possessor. Connected with these were strong develop- 
ments of benevolence, and of a noble and generous heart 
She was a being to be loved for herself — for her amiabb 
qualities, by one whose mind was not enslaved by sensual 
passions. 

x\s we introduce her, she was sitting by a window, appa- 
rently awaiting the arrival of some one. She leaves the win- 
dow, and proceeds to her room, and presently returns to re- 
ceive the message of her father — requiring her to prepare for 
a journey to London in twenty-four hours. "NYi^h a pale and 
agitated countenance, and with a trembling hand, she endorsed, 
the message — 

" I will be ready to dcpajt, 

" Celeste." 



•Xrv.] VERONA. 665 

Handing it to the servant, she orders him to retire, and 
again takes her place weeping at the window. 

The clock had struck the hour of twelve. All was still in 
tho mansion of the rich merchant La Fargo. A dull taper 
was burning in the room of Celeste, which revealed equipage 
for a journey in readiness, and a male servant armed and in 
disguise. The lady was still at the window. A carriage ap- 
peared at a distance in the street leading from the mansion. 
Presently, one of the windows are closed as if by accident. 
Instantly, with a still and cautious tread, the lady leaves the 
window, and in a moment is moving toward the street from a 
rear entrance. The carriage is muffled — the watch allow it 
to pass, at a signal from its occupant, and turn away smiling. 
as the shining metal dazzles in the lamp-light upon their 
palms, whispering as they meet : " Fine fellow that, fine ope- 
ration, b' gas." 

The lady is in the carriage, and soon all is still again in 
that mansion and in the streets. 

It is morning soon, and a couple habited as t^avelters, witbi 
baggage, with male and female servants, appearing to be of 
middle age, descended from a hotel, and repair to a ship, 
bound for the United States. The wind is fair, and sooa 
they are undep way. 

Great excitement prevails in the mansion of La Fargo ! 
The hour of breakfast has come, and the summons does not 
bring down the beloved daughter. A servant is dispatched — 
the father turns pale lest she is sick, and, will be unable to 
perform the journey-^perhaps she has destroyed herself ! 
No, she is too sensible for that, perhaps— 

" Speak girl, why does not your mistress come to breakfast?" 

" Not there ! here is a letter I found, addressed to your 
honor." 

" Not there ! a letter ! hand it to nxe ! " 



66G ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [CMAT.. 

" Ha\Te, 179-3, 12 midnight. 
■ Dear Father : — I am sorry to leave you— -Lut regard the separation, 
your departure with me to England would create between mygell" 
and him who. has long occupied the strongest affections of my heart, 
a great affliction. As.a/a<Aer you have my love — will ever have it. 
As a husband La Nouresse has my heart — must control it. Be not 
alarmed. Ere breakfast passes to-morrow, I shall'be on my wa^ to 
America — fi'ora which place you -shall hear from me. 

"Affectionately, fareivell, 

"Celestx." 

•• Grcne to America ! Marry La Nouresse! Never! My 
f/arriage ! My pistols ! Ho. there, De Nair ! Quick you 
blockhead ! " 

■• De Xair has gone, too, master, and broken the heari of his 
poor mother." 

•• To the ship then — let us away — police." 

•• 0, the ship has gone — been gone two hours ! " 



CHAPTER. II. 

Four years had elapsed. A gentleman and lady were seen 
walking along the beach of one of the sweetest little lakes in 
the State of New York, called Oneida. A convenient log 
hou.?e, not splendid like a city mansion, but <;omfortable, 
stood a little distance from the shore. The 'fwest around 
them was echoing with the sound of the axe and the falling 
trees, Out upon the bosom of the lake danced the canoe, as 
the waves sped before the wind. Here and there in the dis- 
tance around them inland, the smoke curled as it arose and 
parted upon the air, showing that they were not altogether 
alone. Were they happy ? Listen. 

Said La Noures.se. as he fixed his soft expressive eyes upon 
Celeste : 



.XXV ] VERONA. 667 

'• Four years have iiO"w "passed away smce we left our hoaie 
in France, tell me love, are you happy — do you regret our 
adventure ! " 

" I have but one answer to give, and as they say, the truest 
language of the heart is expressed in song, I will answer you." 
Then in a voice melodious and distinct as the harp, she sang : 

"Let others seek, in wealth or fame, 

A splendid path whereon to tread ; 
I'd rather wear a lowlier name, 

With love's enchantment round it shed. 
Fame's but a light to gild the grave, 

And wealth can never caliu the breast ; 
But love, a halcyon on life's wave. 

Hath power to soothe its strifes to rest." 



'• And have you no wish to exchange our rude dwelling and 
these wild scenes, for the gaiety or retirement of your native 
city ?" 

•' ! not the smiles of other lands, 
Though far and wide our feet ma}' roam. 

Can e'er untie the genial bands 
That knit our hearts to home." 

Again sang Celeste in the same sweet voice — but added — 
" Still I am happier here," as she gently leaned her head upon 
the breast of her husband. 

La Nouresse felt the blood rush to his face, as his heart 
vibrated to the magic power of that love which had trans- 
planted the angelic being from the soil of her birth and cul- 
ture — surrounded by all the advantages of wealth and dis- 
tinction, into a foreign clime, and upon a wilderness soil, sub- 
ject to deprivation and many hardships. And when he re- 



GG8 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

fleeted that, in flying from home and a father's stem copa- 
mand, to escape the doom of a union with a nobleman, be- 
cause she loved an untitled, unwealthy merchant, he was 
proud of his seclusion. That being was a treasure, which 
titles and wealth could not estimate. 

Once Celeste had written to her father. She had painted 
the scenes in which she moved, with all the poetry and ro- 
mance of life. She represented her situation with that en- 
thusiasm which it inspired in her own heart. She made her. 
home in the " American wilderness," a transcript of Eden be- 
fore the expulsion. 

To that letter an answer was sent full of bitter unforgive- 
ness. It was a'severe blow to the gentle heart of a daugh- 
ter. But she reasoned correctly, that, as to the choice of her 
life's companion, if she had made that life a delight, the com- 
plaints of her father, however well designed, were unreasona- 
ble — filial love cannot ask the sacrifice of a life to the pleas- 
iire of another's will. Life is our own — its happiness our own. 

CHAPTER III. 

Another four years had passed away. It was late at even- 
ing. The gentle breath of spring, perfumed by the fragrant 
wild flowers, that adorned the luxuriant openings, and that 
crept to the very threshold of the happy cottage, was mo- 
ving across the bosom of the lake and wildly murmuring in 
ripples along the shore, while the voice of the night bird was 
heard in echoes among the forest hills. Upon the floor of the 
cottage danced a bright-eyed little boy, whom his mother in 
her forgiving love had named La Fargo, after his unforgiving 
grandfather, and upon the grass plat in front of the dwelling 
in many gambols frolicked the dogs, who had not yet retired,, 
and with all, it was. a happy scene. 



XXV.] VERONA. 669 

A coach is seen for away down the road, leading from the 
Mohawk turnpike, and running for many miles upon the lake 
shore. Nearer it approaches, until near the house of La 
Nouresse it stopped, and the driver called out : 

" Can you direct us to the residence of a gentleman whose 
name 'is La Nouresse, any where in these parts ! " 

" I have the honor to be that person," was the reply. 

In a moment the coach stood before the door. A gentle- 
man alighte'd. He was apparently about fifty-five years of 
age, richly dressed and wealth}'. The darkness obscured his 
face, and he was not recognized by the owner of the dwelling, 
who politely invited him to walk in, while himself directed in 
securing the beasts. 

A shriek from his wife soon called La Nouresse into this 
house again. 

On entering the door h-e saw the stranger prostrate upon 
the floor, and his wife in a iiwoon by lais side. The man was 
dead ! He had discovered himself to his long absent daujrh- 
ter, and being overcome by the intenseness of his feelings, fell 
at her feet ; uttering the first and the last, the only words — 
"Daughter?" "forgive!" 

Deep was the affliction of that little family that night. 
Long and tenderly with tears sat Celeste by the cold form of 
her father. That sweet word " daughter," and the sweeter 
word " forgive," were oft pronounced amid the disturbed 
■slumbers of the night. 

The last tribute of respect had been paid to the departed 
father. Upon examining his papers, a will, prepared previ- 
ously to his departure from France, was found duly attested, 
making Celeste the heir of one million francs and all his es- 
tates at Havre. 

Besides this, among his papers addressed to his daughter, 
which he had prepared previously to leaving, and during his 



§•70 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP 

vova«'e, to provide against sudden death, was a full expres- 
sion of his entire approbation of the marriage of Celeste with 
La Nouresse, and an account of tlie great injury done him 
by the nobleman who had won his confideacc. and througii 
whose influence he had, by misguided ambition, been induced 
to attempt her compulsory union with a villain, instead of 
being united to the worthy person of her heart's first choice 

Five years more had passed. La Nouresse had disposed of 
his property in America, and was among the wealthiest, most 
respected merchants in Havre. 

One of his daughters is the happy wife of an American 
merchant — a son of a New England mechanic, who resides 
in New York. That merchant with his lady, visited thf; 
shores of the beautifuli lake this summer. 

Sucii are life's chancres and romances 



In some respects, the truth wa.s s^-angcr liian the fiction. 
After De Wardenou and '• Celeste'' had interchanged vows 
of eternal constancy, the girl's friends to prevent their mar- 
riage, confined her. in a convent. But love not only laughed 
at the locksmith, but triumphed over the vigilance of tLe 
ladv superior, she escaped, they were married, and embarked 
for America. He had a handsome fortune at command, 
which he invested in merchandize and brought to New York 
Here misfortune overtook him, and he nearly Ic^t his all^ 
when they emigrated to tlie vicinity of the Oneida Lake. 
Even here trouble sought them out. A lovely little child, 
their first born, sickened and died, in 1797. No cofiin could 
be procured. Its little c>radle was substituted. A few years 
after, when the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company 
were about erecting a structure at the Oak Orchard, iu 



XXV. j VERONA. 67!: 

digging for tlic foundation they disinterred a cradle con- 
taining tlie skeleton of a child. This, no doubt, was the 
remains of the child of De Wardenou, the first deceased 
from a natural cause, within the limits of Verona. The 
next death in the town was that of Abigail Newland, 
daughter of Josiah Newland, but the time of her decease 
has not been ascertained. 

The Royal Block. House was built on a slight elevation oh 
the south side, and near where Wood Creek enters the Onei- 
da Lake. The ditdi, about ten feet deep, enclosed an area 
some eight rods square. Since Mr. Jackson settled at thin 
place in 1796, the creek has been constantly encroaching, 
upon its site, so that at this time but a small portion of the 
southern ditch remains, the bed of the creek occupying al- 
most the entire ground of the fortification. In a very few 
years, every vestige will have been swept away. Tradition. 
says, that on the retreat of St. Leger from Fort Stanwix. a 
party from the fort had a skirmish at this place with the re- 
treating foe, and that a number were killed and buried on the 
bank of the creek, and that the creek in changing its channel. 
exposed their bones to view. 

The southern part of this town was a part of wiiat was 
termed at the time of its sale in August, 1797, ''the late 
Oneida Reservation." A large proportion was bid off by 
those who intended to become actual settlers. Accordingly 
in the spring of 1798, this section of the town was settled by 
scores of hardy industrious pioneers. Many of them had one 
or two years previously moved into the older settled towns 
in the county, and awaited the sale of the Reservation. 

Among these early settlers were R,ussell Brooks. Martin 
Langdon, Noah Langdon, Samuel Avery, Joseph Eamcs, 
John Bosworth, Oliver Pomeroy, Ithamar Day, Eleasar El- 
11.5. Fisher Elli^. Jcdediah Phelps, Stephen Benedict. Jabez 



672 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Loomis, Jonatlian Warren, John Tilden, John E. Todd, 
Levi Skinner, Lieut. Billington, Peter Wheelan, Robert 
Robbins, Rodman Clark, Caleb Clark, Solomon Bishop and 
Moses Brown. These are now all dead, but many of them 
left children, who yet occupy the homesteads of their fathers. 

Of those now living, and yet residing in the town, are, 
Simeon Parsons, Joseph Cou<;h, Benjamin Blackman, Achus 
Rathbun, Artemas Brewer, Nahum Joslin, Elias Cagwin, 
Daniel B. Cagwin, Dr. Alexander Whaley ; Joseph Grant 
now resides in Oswego, and Gideon Todd in Vernon. In 
his youth the author knew all of the above-named early set- 
tlers, and with many of them was well acquainted. If any 
names have been omitted it has not been intentional, but 
from the want of recollection. Some of those named came a 
little later than the year 1798, but they were all very early 
settlers. It is believed that they all or nearly all emigrated 
from Massachusetts and Connecticut, quite a number from 
]>erkshire, Massachusetts. 

At this place the author presumes that his readers will 
justify him in again departing from his rule, to speak but in 
general terms of the living. The widow Elizabeth Whaley 
Matteson was born May 23, 1751, and resides in this town. 
Consequently she entered upon her hundredth year the 23d 
of May, 1850, and retains her faculties in a good degree. 
She is a woman of great piety, and at the age of ninety-five 
used to walk to and from church frequently in pleasant weath- 
er, a distance of two miles. She has now partially lost the 
use of her limbs. The author called upon her in September, 
1849, and found her knitting, and he listened to a recital 
of some of the eventful scenes of her life. She resided at 
Montville, nine miles from New London, when the infamous 
Benedict Arnold took and burned the place, and her husband 
and a brother belonged to the carrison. The brother was* 



XXV.] VERONA. 673 

severely wounded, while her husband escaped unhurt. From 
where she was, she could plainly see the flashes of the guns 
on the shipping. To use her own comparison, " she had seen 
boys for amusement throw grains of powder upon live coals 
and their flashing quickly one after the other resembled the 
flashes of the guns." The author remarked to her, that in 
her lifetime she had doubtless experienced many trials, but 
that she was now in the retention of her faculties, enjoying a 
good old age, surrounded with many comforts, when she al- 
most interrupted him, with the exclamation of the Psalmist. 
'■• Goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my 
life."* 

The first framed house built in the town was built by Rob- 
ert Robbins. 

By an act of the Legislature passed February 17th, 1802. 
the town of Verona was formed from the town of Westmore 
land, the first town meeting to be held at the house of Martin 
Langdon. This house stood about half a mile west of the 
ground now occupied by Verona Village, and on the rise of 
ground a short distance east of what is known as the Langdon 
school house. When the town was organized, it contained 
but 102 families, and 439 inhabitants. The first town meet- 
ing was held March 2d, 1802. Jedediah Phelps, Esq., was 
chosen supervisor, and Eleasar Ellis, town clerk. Esquire 
Phelps was elected to the office of supervisor for five succes- 
sive years. Stephen Benedict, Esq. succeeded him, and was 
chosen for thirteen successive years. Esquire Benedict was 
succeeded by Joseph Grant. Esq., who held the office for one 
year, and was succeeded by Esquire Benedict for one year- 

* Since penning the above .she has departed to her re.st. She had 
previously expressed the wish to her former pastor, Mr. Braioardii, 
not to pray that she might live longer, as she was ready when her 
Master called. She died July 27th, 1850. 

43 



6?4 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [OHAP. 

TIis aost two years Judge Grrant's friends succeeded in keep- 
ing him in the ascendant, and the two following years Esquire 
Benedict's friends were successful : Thus evenly balanced 
were these two popular men of the democratic party, which 
was predominant in Verona. 

The first election in town wa.s held April 30th, 1802. The 
democratic ticket received thirty-one vote.s, and the federal 
twenty-eight. It should be borne in mind that this was un- 
der the first Constitution of the State, that reqnired a free- 
hold qualification of ^250. to enable the citizen to vote for 
Governor and Senators. 

Two men were killed in the north part of this town at the 
raising of a small barn. A portion of the building was raii-^- 
cd, and left in an insecure condition. This was observed and 
the warning given, but it was unheeded, and soon a bent fell 
killing one instantly,and so wounding the other that he lived 
but a few days in great distress. Their names and the d-At^i 
have not been learned, but the event is believed to have oc- 
njurred previously to 1805. 

Iq August. 1805, the typhus fever, of the most virulent 
character, commenced its ravages in this town, and in its pro- 
gress appeared highly contagious. Its introduction wa;^ 
providential. Mis.s Elizabeth Day, daughter of Ithaiiiar 
Day, of this town, had been residing some time with friends 
in Litchfield, Herkimer County, and in that vicinity there 
had been cases of typhus. The day was fixed for her return 
to her parents, and on the morning of which she felt slightly 
indiepoeed. Anxious to get home, she started on horseback, 
but before one half of the journey was accomplished, a mo.st 
violent fever was raging inwardly, while outwardly she wan 
unprotected from the scorching rays of an August sun. (hi 
her way, she called for a few minutes at a relative's, but nu 
importunities could induce her to forego reaching home tjat 



XXV.] VERO.XA. 675 

afternoon. She did so, but it was only to lie down on a sick 
bed never to rise. From her, the disease spread, and for 
about a year was very prevalent. It was believed there 
were about 100 cases, and in its victims, it nearly or quite 
decimated the whole population. 

No particular causes could be assigned for the virulence 
of the disease, other than those common to the settlement of 
all new countries. The cutting away of the timber and let- 
ting in the rays of the sun, might possibly have increased the 
malaria of the wet lands, and most of the inhabitants were 
living in log houses, and although of recent date, the work of 
decay had rapidly commenced upon them. At this time 
there were very few inhabitants -except in about one-third of 
and in the south part of the town. 

Among the early victims of the disease was Capt. Oliver 
Pomero}', an uncle of the author, who died October 9th, 1805. 
aged thirty-one years. The disease was principally among 
the younger heads of families, and unmarried young people. 

From the first settlement the progress of improvement was 
most rapid. In passing through the town (as the author did 
frequently the first ten years after its settlement), the blows 
of the sturdy axeman greeted the ear on every side, and the 
sounds of the falling trees which came 

'•Crackling, crashing, thundering dovva," 
were not few nor far between. Soon luxuriant fields of wheat, 
corn and oats, were waving in the breeze, and in many the 
golden pumpkin, that luxury of the new settlement, dotted 
the fields far thicker than the blackened stumps. 

The north and north-westerly parts of the town were very 
thinly settled up to the completion of the middle section of 
the Erie Canal in 18:20. This section of the town lying be- 
tween the Canal and Wood Creek on the north, and the 
Oneida Lake on the west, is very level, with but barely fall 



<i76 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

onough to the north and north-west to allow of its being drain- 
ed. The soil is rich, much of it alluvial, and when it comes 
to be properly tilled and drained, will be excellent for meadow 
and pasturage, and in many sections good for grain. This 
part of the town was very heavily timbered with beech, ma- 
ple, elm, oak, ash, hemlock and with some cedar and pine. 

The Erie Canal nearly divides the town into equal sections. 
That part lying southerly and easterly of it is not hilly, but 
is mostly undulating, rising in swells one above the other 
towards the south. Verona, as a farming town, has few equals 
in the county, particularly in the older settled parts, where 
her farmers admit of no superiors, in the neat and orderly 
arrangement of their farms, or in the quality and quantity of 
products. 



ViLX.AGES. — Verona ViUage is six miles sov.th-westcrly 
from Rome, on the road leading from Rome to Oneida Cas- 
tle. This road runs near, in its whole distance, where once 
ran the trail of the Oneidas to Fort Stanwix. It is believed 
that Shubal Brooks felled the first tree at this place in the 
fall of 1 797. Doct. Brundage was the first physician who 
came to the town, and he located in this village, on the corner 
where now stands Munger's tavern. This place was for 
many years quite generally known as " Hand's Village," thus 
named from Capt. Ichabod Hand, who many years kei)t an 
excellent public house at this place. There are in the village 
two churches, Methodist and Presbyterian, a post-office, 
three physicians, two stores, two taverns, a tannery, with all 
the different mechanics usujilly found in a country village. 

'DurhamviUe. — This village is located on the west line of 



XXV.] VERONA. 677 

the town on the Eric Canal and on the oa.3t side of the Onei- 
da Creek. It was named from Eber Durham, who removed 
froiii Manlius, Onondaga County, to this place in 1826. 
^V'heu he arrived there were four log houses in the bounds of 
the present village. By his energy, activity and enterprise, 
soon a flourishing village sprung up. One of the important 
ingredients in this rapid growth was the surplus water, here 
let off from the canal in large quantities, which Mr. Durhanx 
leased and extensively applied to hydraulic purposes. This 
source of pro.spcrity is now dried up, as the canal officers 
liave found by experience that the rents illy paid for the 
damage to navigation, in times of low water, caused by the 
lessees drawing too closely to turn their machinery. These 
remarks are not intended for particular application to thi.s 
place, but as general. The water now flows over a waste 
weir into the channel of the Oneida Creek, and is of no use 
whatever. The enterprising inhabitants have, however, en- 
deavored by the use of steam to make up the loss of water 
power. 

There are now in the place a steam grist and flouring mill, 
and a steam saw-mill, besides two saw-mills carried by water 
from the Oneida Creek. Sanford's tannery is doing an ex- 
tensive business, he having in the year 1849, tanned thirty 
thousand sides of sole leather, averaging sixteen pounds each. 
He tans for a commission of five cents per pound. 

The glass factory in this village is doing a good business. 
It is ov/ncd by three brothers, the Messrs. Fox. It is kept 
in blast from eight to ten months in the year, and makes 
about sixteen hundred boxes of window glass, of fifty feet 
each, per month, averaging at wholesale three dollars per box. 
A continuous plank road extends from this place, via Oneida 
Depot, Oneida Castle and Vernon to Utica. 

An iron foundry in the village, principally employed in the 



(j?'8 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUMY. [CIIAP. 

manufacture of stoves, does a very fair business. There arc 
two houses for public worship, Baptist and Methodist, two 
physicians, two dry-goods stores, two taverns, nine grocery 
and provision stores, three ware-houses, with various me- 
chanics, etc., etc., with a population of five to six hundred in- 
habitants. In 1816, Calvin W. Baker was married at this 
place. It was the first wedding of a white couple solemnized 
between the Oneida Castle and Oneida Lake. 

Four miles easterly from Durhamville is the Dunbarton 
ulass Factory, a flourishing establisliment, where a large 
amount of superior glass is manufactured annually. 

One mile east, is Higginsvilh, a small village, at the junc- 
tion of the Erie and Oneida Lake Canals. The Oneida Lake 
(Janal was originalh' owned and constructed by a compan}', 
but has been purchased, and is now owned by the State. 
This canal running in a north-westerly course divides the 
north section of the town into two nearly equal parts. 

Xcw London. — This village contains about 100 dwellings 
:ind between 5 and GOO inhabitants. Ambrose Jones who 
lirst settled at this point on the Erie Canal in 1&'24, is still 
living in the town of Vienna. 

In the place are a dry-goods store, a number of grocery 
and provision stores, two public houses, and the usual A'arie- 
ty of mechanic shops. Since the construction of the Erie 
Canal, the principal business of the place has been the ship- 
ment of lumber to the eastern markets. Much of the lumber 
is drawn to this place by teams during the winter, and upon 
the opening of the canal is sent on boats to its various places 
of destination. About 4.000.000 feet were shipped here 
during the year 1849. 

Boat building is also extensively carried on at thir place. 



XXV.] VERONA. G79 

.8ome years wlien the demand has warranted it, as many as 
fifty boats, of the various kinds used for freight, have been 
bailt in a year. About eighty canal boats are owned by the 
inhabitants of the village. 

James I. Carley keeps a large storage and forwardijn;^ 
house, and from liis long experience, and an extensive ac- 
quaintance, almost monopolises the business of the place In 
that line. 

IlatJihunviUe. — At this place AehusEathbun, a member of 
the society of Friends first settled. His son, Solomon Rath- 
bun, is now the business man of the place, and deserves great 
credit for his perseverance in continuing and increasing his 
business, after having his establishment twice destroyed by 
lire. He has a large flouring mill, woolen factory and store, 
ilathbunville is the name of the post-office. 

T'dden Hill is the name of a locality in the south-east part 
of the town, although it does not aspire to the dignity of a 
village. Its inhabitants are farmers, and few as pleasant lo- 
cations can be found in the county. The scenery is pictur- 
esque and beautiful. Here the venerable Artemas Brewer, 
one of the pioneers of the town, resides in a substantial brick 
mansion. A man named Strallon, first bought and moved 
upon the hill. Merrit Clark moved to the hill in 1798, and 
opened a small store and commenced the manufacture of pot- 
ash. This the author believes was the first store in Verona, 
but possibly is mistaken. Mr. Clark built a small framed 
dwelling so near the standing timber that in cutting it away 
a tree unluckily fell upon the house and broke in a portion of 
the roof The disaster was not repaired for years, the busi- 
■ ness was discontinued, and the merchant left for parts un- 
known. Mr. John Tilden from whom the hill took its name, 



6S0 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAT. 

inoved here in 1800. At the time the following anecdote 
was told of him. 

After he had purchased but before he removed, he came 
up to view his farm, and satisfying himself, he went to 
Vernon Village to spend the night. Capt. Benjamin Pier- 
son then kept the tavern, now known as the stage house. 
Mr. Tilden informed mine host that he wished to stop with 
him for the night but that he had spent his money, so tliat 
he had not a dollar, nor a two shilling piece, nor even a six 
penny piece left, but that the bill should eventually be paid. 
The Captain seeing no appearance of poverty on the part of 
his guest, and knowing he had purchased a farm in the vi- 
cinity, readily told him he could stay. He had supper, lodg- 
ing, breakfast and horse keeping. In the morning as about 
to leave he enquired the amount of his bill. It was made 
out without any expectation of its being paid at that time, 
but to the surprise of our landlord and his attendants, the 
wayfarer drew from his pocket a stocking well filled with half 
dollars, and paid the bill, convincing the landlord that he 
was a man of truth, for in the capacious wallet, there was 
not a dollar, two shilling, or six penny piece. 

Stacy^s Basin is the name of a small village on the Eric 
Caualj between Higginsville and New London, and is about 
the size of the former place. 

Sconandoali. — This village is located in the south-west cor- 
ner of the town, on the creek of this name, and near where it 
empties into the Oneida Creek. The late Samuel S. Breesc. 
formerly had a cotton factory at this place, but it has been 
discontinued for several years. Mr. Breese's mansion was 
beautifully located in a grove, and few more picturesque 
country seats were seen in the county. The water power at 



tXXV.] VEROXA. 681 

this place was first used by the celebrated Sconandoah, by the 
erection of a grist and saw-mill for the use of his tribe and 
the very few whites located at the time in the vicinity. The 
line between this town and Vernon passes through the vil- 
lage, leaving however but a small portion of it in Vernon. 



GEOLOOr. 

The surface of this town, in coramou with many others in 
the couuiy, bears evidence that at least large portions of it 
wci'c one: covered with water. The appearances also indi- 
cate that the subsiding of the v;aters was not uniform and 
gradual., but that for a long period they remained stationary, 
and then by some mighty convulsion its outlets became low- 
ered or changed, so that large sections were at once drained 
and eventually became dry land. The ridge known in the 
town as the " Irish Ridge," as well as the sand banks on the 
road from Verona Village to Durhamvillc. give at least strong 
evidence in favor of the theory. 

Iron ore of the best quality found in this region, is verj- 
abundant in this town. It is of that kind termed rock ore, 
and has been extensively used in the Westmoreland, Taberg, 
and other furnaces. 

There is so much lime mingled with it, that in its use, it 
fluxes the furnace sufficiently, without the aid of those sub- 
stances resorted to in the use of many other varieties of ore. 
This ore was discovered by the late Jedediah Phelps, Esq., 
who had entered into a contract with the owners of certain 
lots of land, that he should have a certain per cent of all 
mines and minerals for the discovery. Whether this was but 
a life interest, or whether it accrues to his heirs, the author is 



682 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. • 

uninformed. The ore bed is about half a mile north of Ver- 
ona Village, and i.s extensive east and west. The Syracuse 
and Utica rail road passes over it. 

An extensive quarry of the very best .stone for building ha.s 
been opened in the south-west section of this town. The 
seQ.ms are so straight and perpendicular that, used in a wall 
it nearly equals in appearance the best cut stone. Some of 
the strata are of a yellowish cast, and slightly softened on 
tlie surface, but the inside is blue, very hard, and of great 
strength, and other strata are blue and clean upon the surface. 
The academy, Dr. Case's store, and the bank at Vernon Vil- 
lage, and deacon Cobb's dwelling house at the Oneida Depot, 
are built of tliis stone. The rail road passing directly past 
the quarr}', this stone has been conveyed by cars as far west 
as Syracuse, notwithstanding the contiguity of that city to 
the Onondaga limestone. It is also conveyed by teams to 
tjie surrounding towns to face the underpinnings of the best 
hou.ses. Such is the reputation of Tipple's stone quarry that 
it is becoming quite a source of profit to its owner 

A ledge of granite rock crosses quite a section of this town. 
It commences north of the road leading from Verona Vil- 
lage to Clark's settlement, and crosses this road at a place 
known as the stone pound. Its course from its commence- 
ment is south-easterly, leaving this town and passing into 
Westmoreland a little east of the Verona Spring. It con- 
sists of blocks of various sizes, many of which are too heavy 
to be removed until broken up by drilling and blasting. It 
is valuable for building purposes. 

The Verona Medicinal Sjiring rises in the bed of a small 
stream where it passes over the last mentioned ledge or quar- 
ry. It was discovered by the early settlers in the neighbor- 
hood, but about twenty 3'cars since was brought into more 



XXV. ] VERONA. 683 

•reneral public notice ; since which the sti-eam has been tuvn- 
td in another channel, and a bathing house erected over the 
spring, and a large and extensive boarding house built a few 
rods distant. Its patronage has not however equalled the 
investment, still the water has been gradually gaining in pub- 
lic favor. It is believed that if valetudinarians were only 
seeking health, instead of foshionable amusements, this would 
rank as high as any in the state, for the cure of scrofula and 
cutaneous diseases. 

In 1850. a " Water Cure " establishment was added, which 
has increased the boarders and visitors greatly beyond any 
former year. The mineral water is any thing but palatable, 
and the gay and dissipated seek more pleasant beverages and 
congenial locations. 

The following analysis of the water was made by Pr. Josi- 
ah Noys, late Professor of Chemistry, in Hamilton College. 
Where his qualifications are known his correctness as a scien- 
tific chemist is appreciated : " A gallon of water contains 
muriate of soda 720 grains, muriate of lime with a little mag- 
nesia 68 grains, sulphate of lime 60 grains. I have not de- 
tected any iodine, yet think the water contains it. from its 
beneficial effects in scrofulous complaints. The water ap- 
pears to be nearly saturated with sulphurated hydrogen, but 
I have not attempted to ascertain the quantity. From what 
I have seen of its salutary operation I am confirmed in the 
high opinion I first formed of its medicinal properties, es- 
pecially in scrofula, diseases of the skin, and many diseases of 
the stomach. The Harrowgate water, England, is very simi- 
lar to the Verona Spring." 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The first eermon preached in the town, was bv the Rev. 



<384 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Joseph Avery, of Tyringliam, Berkshire County, Massachu- 
setts, while upon a visit to his son, the late Samuel Avery, 
one of the first settlers. The first preacher employed by tho 
people was a Mr. Masey, a candidate for the ministry, who 
preached a portion of the time in this, and the other portion 
in an adjoining town, for one season. 

The next was Stephen Williams, from New Hampshire, 
who (unknown to this people) had been silenced for immor- 
ality. Pie was a man of good talents, and, until his charac- 
ter became known, an acceptable and popular preacher. He 
however refused to administer the ordinances. When his; 
standing became known, he was dismissed by the people, when 
Jie returned to the association to which he had belonged, 
made a humble confession, and was restored to his office. 

The first church organization in town was August 5th. 
ISOo. It v/as a Congregational church formed by the Rev. 
L'eter Fish and the Rev. Timothy Cooley, missionaries, the 
one a Congregationalist, the other a Presbyterian. It consis- 
ted of twenty-three members, thirteen males and ten females. 
The ordinances were administered upon the occasion. 

In November, 180(5, the first religious society was formed 
•' to provide the privileges of the gospel for themselves and 
families." The articles of agreement were signed by sixtv- 
live heads of families. A peculiar blessing seems to have 
followed those who made this early etibrt, and rested on them- 
selves and families. In many instances the truth of the 
proverb of the wise man was verified, '• he that watereth, shall 
be watered also himself" 

In the autumn of ISO.j, a revival commenced in that part 
of AVestmoreland, now known as Lowell, and spread into the 
eastern part of Yerona,althoughuot into the western part, and 
about forty were added to this church. This was the fruit of 
the labors of a Methodist preacher, who preached statedly at 



XXV.J VERONA. 685 

Lowell for a short time. On the 23(1 of September, 1807, 
the Rev. Israel Brainard was installed, and set over the 
church. He continued his labors with this people about thir- 
ty years, and was then dismissed from his charge. He yet 
lives and resides near the line between this town and Vernon. 
Although to some extent superannuated, he occasionally 
preaches to the destitute. 

In 1817, there was a general revival, and more than one 
hundred were added to this church, and a number to the 
Baptists. 

In February, 1818, the church placed itself amenable to 
the presbytery, retaining its congregational form and mode 
of government. 

In a new j'ear's sermon preached January 1st, 1825, by 
]Mr. Brainard, he stated that 300 members had belonged to 
its communion. The church and society had previously' 
built a convenient and good sized meeting house, some two 
miles east of Verona Village. In 1828, the church and so- 
ciety divided, forming a second Congregational church and 
society, who built a new house for worship in the village. 
This state of things remained until June, 1837. 

During the continuance of the two societies, the Rev. Mr. 
Brainard preached to the first, and the Rev. Messrs. Luther 

Myrick, E. Spencer, and Lewis to the second. In 

June, 1837, the two churches and societies happily united, 
and only occupy the house for worship in the village. Since 
the union the Rev. Messrs. Benjamin Lockwood, Charles F. 
Butler, Washington Stickney, Henry Kendal and Nathan 
Bosworth have been the preachers, and the Rev. J. S. Bar- 
teau is the present pastor. The church at this time num- 
bers about 144 members. 

Seventh-day Baptists. — In the year 1805, Daniel Wil- 



6S0 AN'NALS OF ONKIDA COUNTS. [CHAI*. 

Hams, of thia denomination, removed from Hopkiutoa, Rhode 
Island, to the west part of the town of Home, uear what is 
now called Kathbunville, in Verona. He had a family of 
seven sons and one daughter, two of the former and the lat- 
ter coming with him. Within the succeeding four years the 
remaining five sons had moved into the vicinity, a part ia 
Home and a part into Verona. In the same period of time, 
his brother, Joshua Williams, with a large family of sons and 
daughters, had removed from Ilopkinton, and settled on 
an adjoining farm in Rome. These two families formed a 
colony of twenty-four persons, all of tlie name of William^. 
Although not quite all professors of religion, they were all 
firm believers in the observance of the Sabbath as set forth 
in the decalogue and as practiced from whence they emigra- 
ted. In 1809, these twenty-four persons formed themselve.^ 
into a family association for religious improvement and Sab- 
bath worship. From this germ thus formed has spruiig th'; 
two seventh-day Baptist churches of Verona. In 1&20, the, 
with others of the same belief, were constituted a church, 
numbering fifty-one communicants. In March, 182S, they 
organized a society under the style of " the first seventh-day 
Eaptist society of Home and Verona." numbering ninety 
members. The next year the society erected a house for 
public worship, although not large, it was respectable and 
convenient. From the first this body had been supplied 
with but itinerant preaching. 

In 1S37, Elder John L. Kenyon became their first settled 
pastor. At the commencement of Mr. Kenyon"s pastorato, 
the church numbered 116 members. This year the second 
seventh-day Baptist church of Verona was organized at 
Durhamville, with forty-one members, sixteen of whom were 
taken from the first church, the original body at this time 
taking the name of the first church of Verona, although som j 



XXV.] VERONA. 6ST 

of its raeoibars yet reside in Rome. Some af the descca- 
tlants of the original William.s emigrants are prominent mem- 
bers in tlic second church. 

About two years of faithful pastoral labor closed the earth 
ly career of Elder Kenyou. He died in 1839. greatly la- 
mented. 

In 1841, Charles M. Lowis was ordained, and became pas- 
tor of the first church. At the time of his ordination thi^ 
church numbered 141 members. In 1847, Elder Lewis re- 
moved to Newport, Rhode Island, and Elder Christopher 0. 
Chester, from that State, assumed the pastoral charge of this 
people, and still labors with them. In 1849, the church num- 
Itered eight j-two. their numbers having been reduced by re- 
movals to Lewis County and the western states. The second 
church has thirty-one members. This year (1850) the sec- 
ond church are erecting a house for worship about one mile 
east of Durhamville. These tv/o societies are all of the de- 
nomination in the county, but this is no evidence but that 
their belief is founded in truth. A contrary position would 
place Mahomcdanism higher than Christianity, and Paganism 
higher than cither. As to the question whether the distinc- 
tive portion of their belief is founded in truth or error, the au- 
thor has nothing to say. That they are eonscientiou&no one 
can doubt. Maintaining as they do a belief that it is a duty 
to obiserve a daj^ of worship different from that observed by 
ail tho6e around them, and strictly adhering to their belief, 
are evidenc-cs of their integrity and stedfastness, and " so 
worship tliey the God of their fathers." The denomination, 
have four associations in the United States. The eastern, 
central, western and south-western, which meet annually. 
They have also a general conference which meets once in 
three years. Their belief except as to the observance of the 



'0S8 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Sabbath is tbe .same as that of the great body of the 
Baptists. 

Methodists. — The Methodists have three societies in the 
town. The society in Verona Village has stated preaching 
by a local preacher. They erected a neat and commodious 
house for worship in 1830. This society sustains a respecta- 
ble standing and has a good congregation. 

The society in New London in 1843, purchased the meet- 
ing house previously occupied by Rev. Mr. Brainard. took it 
down and removed it to that village. In its re-erection its 
external appearance was much improved. They have a good 
congregation and have the only house for worship in the 
village. 

There is a society in Durhamville who have a small house 
for worship in that place. 

Baptists. — There were formerly two Baptist churches in 
the town, but the second church in the vicinity of Higgins- 
ville has lost its visibility, or became merged in the Baptist 
church at Oneida Depot, formed about the eommeucemeni 
of the year 1847. 

Baptist Church at Durhamville. — In 1811, Eliphalet 
Frazee removed to this place, and was the first settler of the 
village. In 1812, he "with Benjamin Newcomb, Dyer I). 
Hansom, Boswell Barker, and a few others, all Baptists, set 
up and maintained religious worship statedly until 1815, 
when they were organized into a church of twelve members. 
Mr. Newcomb preached to them the most of the time until 
1819, when he was ordained and became the pastor of thp 
church. At the time of his ordination the church numbered 
thirty six members. 

The church was highly prosperous under his ministration. 



XXV.] VERONA. 689 

In 1833, they raised a meeting house, thirty-eight by forty- 
eight feet, with a steeple, and in 1834 it was completed. The 
church this year numbered 150 members. Elder Newcoml) 
was very active and energetic in procuring the ways and 
means for the erection of this house, but the G reat Head of 
the Church, for whom he ha:d so Jealously and successfully 
labored, in His wisdom, called him from his labors ere he had 
imce broken the bread of life to his flock within its walls. 
Death closed his labors in the church militant in March, 1834, 
and the first sermon preached in the house was at his fune- 
ral. Sixteen years have not effaced his memory, and he is 
yet spoken of with great feeling and affection. 

Dyer D. Ransom had, previously to the death of Elder 
Newcomb, removed to Peterboro, Madison County, where he 
was ordained to the ministry. After the death of Elder 
Newcomb, he returned to Durhamville, and became the pas- 
tor of the church, and continued as such eight years. The 
church maintained its numbers during his pasto^-ate. He was 
succeeded by Seymour W. Adams, from Vernon, a young, but 
popular preacher. He remained but one year, in which time 
lie received ordination. He was succeeded by Elder R. Z. 
Williams, and he by William J. Loomis, who preached to 
them sixteen months. He was succeeded by Elder Albert 
Cole one year. 

In February, 1850, the present pastor. Elder Harry White, 
came to preach to them. In September, 1850, this body re- 
ported 120 members to the Oneida Association, and Rev. 
Messrs. Harry White, R. Z. Williams and B. C. Crandall as 
members of the church. Several members of this chureli re- 
siding in the vicinity of Oneida Depot, have become mem- 
bers of the church at that place. In 1850, Elder D, D, Ran- 
som was reported as a member of the church at the Depot. 



44 



696 ANNAL3 OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAP. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



This towa was organized in 1807, by tlie name of Orange ; 
iu 1808, the name was changed to Bengal : and finally in 1816. 
to Vienna. It comprises townships No. 9 and 10 of Scriba'y 
Patent, and is a part of the original grant to Nicholas Roose- 
velt of New York. The latter not complying with the terms 
of sale, a large share of his purchase was re-sold to George 
Scriba, a native of Germany, but then a merchant in New 
York, and the remainder, including this town, was subse- 
quently sold under proceedings in Chancery against Roose- 
velt ; and General Alexander Hamilton, John Lawrence and 
John B. Church, became the purchasers. 

The face of the land in the western part of the town is com- 
paratively level, in the north-east it rises into hills, while the 
southern portion slopes gradually to the Oneida Lake. The 
soil in the northern part is a light sandy loam, with oak 
openings; in the eastern part, on the banks of Fish and 
"Wood Creeks, alluvion, which is annually inundated, and is 
not inferior to portions of the flats of the Mohawk. Al)Out 
one-tenth of the whole town is of a light sandy soil, with clay 
at a abort distance below the surface, and here both kinds of 
pine are indigenous. In the south part of the town is a con- 
siderable section of yellow or pitch pine plains. Previous to 
the use of coal in the propelling of steam vessels, large quan- 
tities of pitch pine from these plains were cut into cord wood 



XXVI.] VIENNA. 69 1 

and taken to Albany on the Erie Canal, and used for that 
purpose. The native forests of this town, except the plains, 
were composed of a largo proportion of evergreens, hemlock 
and white pine. Most of the pine, both yellow and white, has 
been sawed into boards and plank, or manufactured into shin- 
gle.?, for the use of the surrounding country, or sent by the 
Erie Canal to the eastern market. The hemlock is now fol- 
lowing the pine to the tide water, and the increasing demand 
in market, and the large quantities used in plank roads, now 
the popular hobby of the day, bid fair soon to strip the for- 
ests of their giant hemlocks. The '' maple flats," in the north- 
western part of the town, are worthy of notice. They com- 
prise a strip of land two miles in length, and about one in 
!>readth, mostly timbered with rock maple — hence the name. 
in viewing this place one is reminded of a stony beach, and 
the resemblance is nearly perfect. It is supposed by many 
that this was formerly the shore of the lake, although now at 
an elevation of a hundred feet above it ; centuries, however, 
must have elapsed since this wag thus covered with water. 
The maples are of the largest size, and a large amount of 
maple sugar is manufactured annually. It will be, in the 
opinion of many, well for the interests of the inhabitants when 
the last boat load of lumber for market shall have left the 
town. Just so long as lumber is depended upon as a staple, 
so long will agriculture, the only sure and great source of 
prosperity, be neglected. The soil of this town is capable of 
great improvement, and when her farmers look to it alone for 
all their income, give their farms their undivided attention- 
then will they become doubly prosperous. 

In the vicinity of Vienna Village, and along the shore of 
the lake, it has the appearance of an older settled country. 
We ore see signs of husbandry not easily to be mistaken 
Tiio farms of Messrs. Parker. Matoon, Bailey, Wadhams 



G92 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. ' [UHAP. 

Ptae, McLaughlin and Bushnell, among others, give sufficient 
evidence of the capability of the soil for producing. This can 
be made a good fruit growing town ; its proximity to the lake 
being a preventive against the early frosts which so often 
destroy the hopes of the pomologist in this northern latitude. 
Agriculture is beginning to receive the attention it demands, 
and not without bringing its reward. 

There is a good quarry of building stone in the east part 
of the town, near the place long known as Parker's tavern. 
This town is in part bounded by the east end of Oneida Lake. 
Large quantities of bog iron ore have been raised from the 
marshes on its shore, and used in different furnaces. 

Oneida Lake is a handsome sheet of water, twenty-one 
miles in length, and from three to seven in breadth. It freezes 
over about the Ist of January, and the ice is sufficiently hard 
for crossing with teams until the month of April, at which 
time it generally breaks up and floats down the Oneida Riv- 
er which is the outlet, or is piled in huge masses on the shore 
by the force of the wind. The view from the north side of 
the lake is truly beautiful, the hills of Madison and Ononda- 
ga rising in the distance, with their waving fields of yellow 
grain and green forests, with the clean sheet of water inter- 
vening, now " calm and motionless," now lashed into fury by 
the winds and storms. Since the improvement of the Onei- 
da River a new impetus has been given to navigation on the 
lake. A number of steamboats have been built to ply up- 
on its waters ; and it is not uncommon to see thirty or forty 
boats in a single tow, freighted with the products of the far 
west. The trade is being diverted from the old channel in no 
small degree ; being twenty-five miles nearer, it is a gain of 
nearly a' day's time, over the Syracuse route, besides saving 
toll, etc. A stage leaves McConnellsville, on the arrival of the 
Rome and Watertown cars from the east, for the lake. It is 



XXVI.] VIENNA. 693 

but a short drive of four or five miles, most of the way over 
a plank road. 

By the last census this town contained 2,867 inhabitants, 
and 640 voters. There are in the town thirty-seven saw- 
mills, two grist-mills and eight shingle-mills. 

The first settlers of the town were Timothy Halstead, Mr. 
Fisher, Mr. Jarvis, Peter Gribbons, Isaac Babcock, Alexan- 
der Graves, Jonathan Grraves, Eliakim Stoddard, Allen Nich- 
ols and David Stone. Mr. Jarvis built the first framed barn 
in town. There is some difficulty in ascertaining the precise 
time when the first settlers moved into the town. Eliakim 
Stoddard moved to Camden in 1799 ; in 1803 he removed to 
Vienna, where he resided five years, then returned to Cam- 
den. He was the first supervisor of this town. As in all 
new settlements, the first inhabitants were troubled with the 
wild tenants of the forest. Messrs. Halstead and Fisher, ou 
a certain occasion, were hunting bears. They started one in 
a swamp on the lake shore, and after following it a short dis- 
tance, and in passing a place made hollow by the roots of a 
tree partly turned ovei', Mr. Halstead broke through to his 
armpits, when out sprang the bear. They succeeded in kil- 
ling it and left ; but had not proceeded more than eighty 
rod.s. when they found where the she bear and two small cubs 
resided, under the roots of another fallen tree. They efi'cct- 
C'd a dislodgment of the old one, who shared the same fate as 
its mate, and secured the two little now orphan cubs. It 
was a very cold day, and to preserve the lives of the little fel- 
lows, Halstead placed one in his bosom and Fisher the other 
in his pocket. They were, however, so little inured to the cold, 
that before the hunters reached home, they were both dead. 
Our hunters however consoled themselves with the reflection, 
that they had four less of these troublesome neighbors than 
in the raorninjr. 



694 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

After Mr. Eliakim Stoddard bad removed to Camdeu, he 
and one of his neighbors started to go to the widow Jackson's 
for salt, each with a yoke of oxen and sled, as it required this 
amount of team to draw through the woods, where there was 
no road or track, their supply of this necessary article, a bar- 
rel each. They struck the lake shore, and while making 
their way on the beach, saw, directly in their route, as they 
supposed, a fine greyhound. As they neared the animal, 
they discovered, that, instead of a hound, it was a wolf, 
and which, from his famished appearance, and the disposi- 
tion it showed to stand its ground, they concluded intended 
to satisfy its craving appetite at their expense. All the 
weapons they had, offensive or defensive, were those necessary 
accompaniments of all woodsmen, their axes. After a con- 
sultation, it was decided to px'oceed, and try titles to the right 
of way with the wolf, and further, that upon no consideration 
was either to throw his axe, but to retain his hold on it at nil 
events. As they came nearer the wolf, it commenced iiu 
angry growl and was evidently on the point of springing nt 
them, when the neighbor let fly his axe, without at all disabling 
the animal, and the only perceptible effect was to render it 
more savage. Mr. Stoddard, now seeing that he must rely 
solely upon his own resources, stood on the defensive, until 
the wolf had got within striking distance, when with a well 
aimed blow, he laid his ad^'ersary at his feet, and by a quick 
repetition, deprived him of life. 

In 1800, a Frenchman, from New York, came to this town 
on a hunting expedition. He was possessed of the two most 
necessary articles to the hunter, a valuable dog and a good 
gun. He stopped at Barnardls Bay. and his first essay was 
in hunting deer. He went into the woods, and had not pro- 
ceeded far before his dog discovered, what Mons. Crapeau 
supposed to be, a fine deer in a tree top. He shot at the 



XXVI.] VIENNA. 695 

animal, wounding, but not disabling it. It leaped from the tree, 
and on reaching the ground, was grappled bj the dog. A fu- 
rious fight ensued, but the dog was however soon put hors du 
combat, when our hunter thought it time to interfere to save 
the life of his favorite. He had nothing but his unloaded 
gun, and valuable as it was, it did not come in competition 
with the life of the hound. The first blow broke it in two at 
the breech, without in the least stunning the doubly infuriated 
animal, now disposed to make fight with both master and 
dog. Our hero nought intimidated, and having a good club 
in the breechless gun barrel, gave a lucky blow which broke 
the '• critter's " back. This rendered the contest far less 
doubtful, and tlie decr^s life was soon taken by repeated blows. 
The Frenchman now started for his boarding-house to tell 
his wonderful feat in deer killing, while poor Tray, too badly 
wounded to accompany him, was left with his fallen foe. Ar- 
riving at his home, the hunter soon spread the iiews of his 
good fortune, when all hands repaired to the woods to assist 
in bringing home the venison. At the place of the exploit, 
instead of a deer, a monstrous panther, measuring nine feet 
from " tip to tip," lay stretched before them, while the leaves 
and bushes gave indubitable proof of the fierceness of the 
death struggle. 

In the year 1820, great depredations were committed in 
this town by the wolves. It having been ascertained that 
they had taken up their abode in a swamp on the lake shore, 
it was determined to make a general rally of every man in 
town and in the adjoining part of Camden, who was able to 
carry a gun, and by what in the far west is called a '• ring 
hunt," to surround and storm the swamp. For this purpose 
between three and four hundred persons collected, and officers 
were chosen who proceeded to marshal the men for the on- 
slaiight. The line was formed in a half circle, with each wing 



606 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

resting on the lake, so that when it advanced, the game would 
be driven to the lake, that being a sufficient barrier on that 
side. Every sixth man was furnished with a lioru, so that 
when the charge was sounded, every one could perceive the 
progress of the various sections of the line. When this force 
had been thus formed in line of battle, the commandant soun- 
ded the charge, and his blast was answered by every horn in 
the line, and all moved forward steadily and in good order. 
As the length of line decreased by the advance, it soon be- 
came so close that nothing could break through and escape 
the unerring aim of the marksmen. The trophies of the day 
were three wolves and about fifty rabbits. When the line 
ncarcd the lake shoi-e, it is said the fur shot from the backs 
of the rabbits so filled the air that it resembled thistle down 
ill all autumnal breeze ! 

McComiellsvlUe is a thriving little village in the town, and 
received its name from a man named McCounell. who kept a 
[»ublic house at this location for many years. There are 
three dry-goods stores, one grocery, two taverns and a double 
saw-mill. The village is located on the westerly branch of 
Fish Creek, which is the boundary at this place between \'\- 
cnna and Annsville. 

North Bay is a thriving little village on a bay of the same 
name. It is situated on a rise of ground overlooking the 
bay and the surrounding country. It has a fine water pow- 
er, and numerous manufactories for the making of pails, 
wooden and stone ware, also an extensive tannery. There 
have been thirty-five canal boats built here in a single season. 
The inhabitants of this village are indebted to Mr. Alexan- 
der Rae, the pi-esent county clerk, in no inconsiderable de- 
gree (also Mr. II. J. Myer. who has built a large share of the 



XXVI.] VIENNA. 697 

buildings), for the prosperity of their village. There are 
two iuus, two stores, mechanic shops, etc. 

Viemia Village, formerly called " Parker's Corners," is a 
small village, with good water power, and numerous manufac- 
tories of leather, etc. 

West Vienna and Fish Creek Landing are also villages 
in this town. 



PvELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

There are two Methodist and two Baptist societies in this 
town. But in relation to their history the author's materi- 
als are short, from his correspondents having failed to furnish 
them as was anticipated. 

The Methodist society at McConnelsville is quite flour- 
ishing. They have a well finished meeting house, thirty- 
eight by fifty feet, with a steeple. 

The other society has a meeting house near Vienna Vil- 
lage, of the same size of that at McConnelsville. These 
churches are both supplied witli circuit preaching. 

There is a Baptist church at North Bay, which has a small 
meeting house at that place. This church was admitted into 
the Oneida Baptist A-ssociation in September, 1841, and 
probably had been then recently formed. The venerable Elder 
Samuel Bloss, was its first pastor, and continued as such in 
1 843, '44, '45 and '46. In 1 842, the church reported eighteen 
members. Since 1846, Elders A. Dunham, Thomas Martin.. 



lo98 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

A. Cole and Oren Beckwith, have been reported as members 
of the church, and Messrs. Cole and Beckwith' as pastors. 
Number of members in 1850, sixty-two. 

The other Baptist church in the town does not belong to 
the Baptist Association, but is included in that branch of the 
denomination which claims to be of the old school. A more 
particular account of the belief of the Old School Baptists 
will be found in the history of "Westmoreland. 



XXVII.J WESTERN. 699 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

WESTERN. 

The town of Western is bounded on the north by Avaand 
Boonville, east by Steuben, south by Floyd and Rome, and 
west by Lee. It contains about 27,000 acres of land, of 
which according to the last census returns, over 18,000 acres 
were under improvement. 

The settlement of the town of Western was commenced in 
the year 1789, by Asa Beckv/ith, and his four sons, Asa, Reu- 
ben, Wolcott and Lemuel, and who were soon followed, and 
in the same year, by Henry Wager. These pioneers, over- 
leaping the Dutch and German settlements, in what is now 
Herkimer County, Judge White's at Whitesboro, and those 
of the few settlers at Fort Stanwix, located themselves upon 
the 3Iohawk River in this town. What is quite an anoma- 
ly in the settlement of new countries, these first settlers, with 
one exception, continued to reside on the farms where they 
thus early located until their deaths. They were literally 
frontier or border settlers, as the country north to the Cana- 
da line was an unbroken forest. The fertile lands on the 
Mohawk soon induced others to follow. Their nearest 
neighbors were at Fort Stanwix, from eight to ten miles 
distant. 

Their grain, potatoes, etc., for seed, had to be procured at 
the German Flats. Henry Wager and Asa Beckwith went 
on foot to the German Flats for seed potatoes, and each 



700 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

brought home a bushel upon his back, which they planted. 
These were the first potatoes ever planted in town. Mr. Wa- 
ger was well repaid for his time and toil, for from the bushel 
he harvested seventy bushels in the fall. 

The refusal of the patentees to convey their lands in fee. 
materially retarded the settlement of this town. Leases in 
perpetuity, or for three lives, with annual rents, were the 
most common conveyances. As in every other section of the 
country where the inhabitants were but leaseholders, instead 
of being independent freeholders, the leasing sy!«tem was here 
found to be very calamitous. The end of the evil is not yet, 
but is seriously felt at the present time. xVbout one half of 
the town is yet held by leasehold tenants. The privations 
and hardships of the first settlers were great, yet not more so 
than those experienced in every section of the county, settled 
thus early. IXoads were soon constructed, difficult and une- 
ven though they were, yet they answered the purposes of men 
inured to inconveniences. Late in the fall of 1789, the few 
inhabitants constructed a bridge across the Mohawk River 
in this town, not a plank or stick of hewn timber was used in 
its construction, and this was the first bridge across that 
stream between its source to its junction with the Hudson. 
Kough and unsightly as it was, it withstood the buffetings of 
the freshets for a greater number of years, than any bridge 
since erected over the same stream in the town. 

This town was incorporated in 179G, and was taken from 
the town of Steuben. The first town meeting was held at the 
liouse of Ezekiel Sheldon, and at this meeting John Hall 
was elected supervisor, who held the ofiicc for two years. 
He was succeeded by Henry Wager, Esq.. who held the ofiice 
for twenty-four years. After Mr. Wager, Benjamin Rudd 
and Arnon Comstock held the office three or four years each, 
and Mr. Comstock was suc3ecded by Hervey Brayton, who 



XXVII.] WESTERN. 701 

held the office one year, and he by David Utley, Who held 
the office for fifteen years and until 1849, when he removed 
from the town. In the latter year, George Hawkins was 
elected to the office, and was reelected in 1850 and 1851. 



WATERS, PACE OF THE TOWN, SOIL, GEOLOGY, ETC. 

This town is well watered by the Mohawk Kiver and its 
branches, and here this stream may be said to be first enti- 
tled to the appellation of river. The east and west branches, 
uniting in the town of Ava, enter this town near the north- 
west corner, and after running easterly in a very meandering 
course for about four miles, it receives the Lansing Kill (or 
creek), and its course is then south-westerly, until it leaves 
the town and enters Rome. After receiving Lansing Kill 
it receives Stringer's Creek, and Willis' or Blue or Big Brook, 
these names all being more or less used for the same stream. 
These three tributaries are all sufficiently large for mills and 
manufacturing purposes. The Mohawk has a sufficiency of 
water and fall in this town to drive a vast amount of ma- 
chinery. The water in this town is very pure, and the 
smaller tributaries so abundant, that it may be ranked as 
among the best watered towns in the county or state. 

The alluvial soil in the valley of the Mohawk is very rich 
and productive, and of the first quality for either grass or 
grain. The uplands are good for meadow and pasturage, 
and a considerable portion of the soil of the hills is mixed 
with slate, and is likewise good for grass and grain. The 
northern portion of this town is quite uneven, and the streams 
have worn for themselves deep channels, which, in many 
places, are impassible by roads, and are a very great incon- 



70U ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP, 

venience to the inhabitants. In the aggregate this is a good 
agricultural town, and few towns of its size and population 
send more to market. Upon the high land on the south- 
easterly side of the Mohawk, is a tract of a few hundred 
acres, differing so much from the ordinary quality of land in 
this section of the county, or as geologists would have it, '• so 
out of place," that it is perhaps worth noticing. It consists 
of a warm sandy loam, is quite productive, with a very hand- 
some level surface. The valuable farm of 3Ir. CarmichacI 
i.? located on this tract. The principal grains cow raised in 
the town are corn and oats. 

Of the agricultural productions sent to market, the chief 
are, beef, pork, butter and cheese. Droves of fat and lean 
cattle are annually driven to the eastern market. 

Probably three-fourths of the income of the farmers are 
received from the products of the dairy. Lands which, twen- 
ty-five or thirty years since, were of but little value, have by 
dairying become valuable. 

In general the farms in this town are not large, few ex- 
ceeding two hundred acres. 

This town contains some of the best quarries of limestone, 
particularly where Stringer's Creek enters the Mohawk val- 
ley and further up that stream. These quarries furnished 
large quantities of stone for the locks of the Black River 
Canal. The stone can be worked of any desired thickness, 
and cuts well. Considerable lime of a good quality has been 
burned. The limestone lies in horizontal strata, and is gen- 
erally overlaid with slate. Like all stone of this kind it is 
mainly composed of shells and other marine substances. 
There are almost certain indications that the Mohawk has 
at different times occupied its whole valley. In many places 
its channel has materially changed since the first settlement. 
Whole trees with their branches, perfectly sound, have been 



XXVll] WESTER.N'. 703 

discovered from eight to twelve feet below tlie present sur- 
face, but conjecture can hardly range back to the time when 
they were growing and blooming in the forest. 

As yet no iron or other ores have been discovered within 
its limits. 

The original patentees of this town were Jellis Fonda. John 
Lansing, jr., Ray and Lansing, John Taylor. Judge Ooth- 
oudt. Goldsbrow Banyer, Lush and Stringer. Stephen Lush, 
Thomas Machin, and Thomas and William Burling. 

The first settlers purchased their farms at one dollar 
per acre. Fonda's patent, containing 40,000 acres, was pur- 
chased of the original patentee, Jellis Fonda, by John Lan- 
sing, jr., Greorge Clinton, William Floyd and Stephen Lush, 
at ten cents per acre. This patent now constitutes a part of 
the towns of Western, Lee, Rome, Floyd and Steuben. 

Within the limits of this town there are twenty school dis- 
tricts, as the author is inform6d, but it is probable they in- 
clude some parts of districts in other towns. 

It has no seminaries or higher schools established. The 
common schools are flourishing and well patronised. 

Wester mnlle is a handsome village situated on the south- 
east bank of the Mohawk. The Black River Canal enters 
the town in the deep ravine of the Lansing Kill, and from 
thence down that stream and the Mohawk until that river 
enters the town of Rome. It passes through the village of 
Westernville, and will eventually add much to its busines.s 
and prosperity. The public business of the town is here 
transacted, besides it is the centre of very considerable trade 
The business statistics of the village are included in those of 
the town. 

Bv the CQnsus of 1845, this town contained 2.523 inhabi- 



704 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

tauts, 517 of which are voters. There arc two grist-mills, 
twenty-two saw-mills, two wool carding and cloth dressing 
establishments, five taverns, six stores, one tannery, two sad- 
lers and a factory for the manufacture of pegs for shoes, be- 
sides blacksmiths, shoemakers, etc., etc. Oars and split 
hoops are also made in large numbers and sent to market. 



HELTGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

As early as the year 1798, a Baptist church was formed 
in this town of about sixty members. At the time of its for- 
mation it had no pastor. Elder Stephen Parsons and other 
clergymen occasionally visited and preached to the church. 
It was a very respectable body of Christians. Elder Jona- 
than Waldo afterwards resided in the town, and preached to 
them frequently on the Lord's and other days. He was tru- 
ly an excellent, pious and exemplary man. He accomplish- 
ed much good to his church and the people generally. After 
his death the church seemed to lose its uiiity, and finally in 
a .measure its visibility. There is however a small society 
which maintain an organization, but they have no pastor. 

After th€ decline of the Baptists, the Methodists, formed a 
•society, and for a number of years the larger portion of pro- 
fessors of religion in the town belonged to this society. At 
present it is the most numerous denomination in the tOTi?n. 
They have now two houses of public worship, and two socie- 
ties, which have been incorporated within a few years pa.st. 

The Presbytei-ianshsLvea, society that was incorporated in 
1818. They have a. good commodious house of worship, and 



XXVII. J WESTERN. 70.3 

when they have preaching the congregation is large and res- 
pectable. They have had two settled pastors. A Mr. Cor- 
lis has recently supplied the desk, with the prospect of a set- 
tlement. 

The church numbers at this time about one hundred 
members. 

There is a society of Friends in this town, which has been 
in existence more than forty years. Although not large, it is 
respectable. They meet for worship regularly on the first 
and fifth days of the week. They are a friendly, sober, hon- 
est and industrious body of Christians, and like the denomi- 
nation generally are an ornament to the religion they profess. 

Very much to the credit of the difi'erent religious denom- 
inations in Western, since its earliest settlement, they have 
lived together on the most friendly terms, exercising Chris- 
tian charity towards each other, pastors have exchanged with 
each other, houses for public worship have been opened for 
those of a difi'erent belief; indeed that brotherly love for one 
another has been so manifested, that it would seem they ex- 
pect in a future world to meet in the same great assembly, 
to worship one God and Kedeemer forever and forever. 



GENERAL WILLIAM FLOYD. 

A brief memoir of this patriot and statesman, whose name 
is appended to the Declaration of Independence, as one of 
the New York delegation in the Continental Congress of 
1776, and who was also one of the pioneer emigrants to the 
town of Western, it is presumed will be acceptable to our 
readers. 

45 



706 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

trcneral William Floyd was the son of Nicoll Floyd, and 
great grand-son of Kichard Floyd, who emigrated from Wales 
in 1654; and settled at Setauket, on Long Island, in 1655. 
His father had besides, seven children, Ruth. Tabitha. Nicoll 
Charles, Charity, Mary and Catherine. He died in 1752. 
General Floyd was born at Mastic, Long Island, December 
17th, 1734. His early education was not such, as. from the 
wealth and ability of his father, might have been estjccted. 
His natural intelligence was great, and his moral character 
elevated. His first wife was a daughter of Vi'illiam Jones of 
Southampton, by whom he had three children, Nicoll, Mary 
and Catherine. The former has long possessed the estate at 
Mastic, and enjoyed in an eminent degree the public respect 
and confidence. Mary married Col. Benjamin Tallmadge 
of Litchfield ; and Catherine became the wife of Dr. Samuel 
Clarkson of Philadelphia. The second wife of Gen. Floyd 
was a daughter of Benajah Strong of Setaulc^et, by whom he 
had two daughters, Ann and Eliza. The first married Geo. 
Clinton, son of the late Vice President of the United States : 
and the other became the wife of James Piatt of Utica. nov/ 
of Oswego. Mrs. Clinton, after the death of her husband, 
married Abraham Yarick of New York. General Floyd was 
early ciiosen an officer in the militia of Suffolk County, and 
rose eventually to the rank of major-general. He was soon 
after elected a member of the provincial assembly, and in 
1774, was sent a delegate from this province to the first Con- 
tinental Congress. In 1777, he was elected a senator: and 
on the 9th of September of that year, took his seat in the 
first constitutional legislature of this state. On fh« 15th of 
October, 1778, he was appointed by the Legislature a mem- 
ber of Congress, and was re-appointed on the 14th of Octo- 
ber, 1789, in conjunction with Ezra L'Homedieu and John 
Sloss Hobart. He was also onr: of that immortal band of 



XXVII.] WESTERN. 707 

patriots, who on the 4th of July, 1776, signed and published 
to the world the great charter of American Independence. 
When the British took possession of Long Island, his family 
fled for safety to Connecticut ; his house was occupied by the 
enemy, and he remained an exile from his estate for nearly 
seven years. The devastations committed upon his property 
in his absence were very great. In 1784, he purchased a 
valuable tract of wild land, in what is now the town of Wes- 
tern. Oneida County, and to which he removed in 180S. 
Being a man of wealth, he was very useful to the inhabitants 
of that then infant settlement, in building mills, etc. There 
he continued to reside, with the good opinion of his fellow cit- 
izens, and in comparative independence, until his death, 
which occurred at Western, August 4th, 1821. His remains 
were interred in the cemetery attached to the Presbyterian 
church in Westernville. 

An appropriate stoue with the following inscriptioa marks 
the last resting place of the patriot : 

In meraorr of 
GENERAL AVILLIAM FLOYD, 

who died August 4111, 182L 

Aged 87 years. 

He was born at Mastic on Long Island, 

He v.'as an ardent supporter of 

His country's rights. 

He was honored in life for the 

sincerity of his patriotism. 

and the 

Declaration of Independence 

will be to his memory an 

imperishable monument. 

At an early period in the controversy betweea Great 



708 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Kritain and her Colonies, the feelings of Gen. Floyd were 
strongly enlisted on the side of the people, and he entered 
■with zeal into every measure calculated to ensure their rights 
and liberties. These feelings on his part excited a corres- 
pondent sympathy on the part of the people, and led to his 
subsequent appointment to the first Continental Congress, 
■which met at Philadelphia the 5th of September, 1774 ; and 
he most heartily concurred in all measures adopted by that 
body. He served on numerous important committees, and 
by his ardor and fidelity rendered essential service to the 
patriotic cause. He enjoyed unusual health until near the 
close of life, and the faculties of his mind remained unim- 
paired to the last. In his person he -was of a middle stature. 
and possessed a natural dignity, which seldom failed to im- 
press those with whom he was associated. He was eminent- 
ly a practical man, without ostentation or vanity. When 
his plans were once formed, he seldom found reason to alter 
them ; and his firmness and resolution were rarely equalled. 
In his political character there was much to admire. Uni- 
form and independent, his views were his own, and his opin- 
ions the result of reason and reflection. If the public esti- 
mation of a man be a just criterion by which to judge. Gen. 
Floyd was excelled by few of his cotemporaries ; since, for 
more than fifty years, he was honored by his fellow citizens 
with ofiices of trust and responsibility. 

There are many anecdotes of Gen. Floyd yet in the recol- 
lection of his old neighbors. He was very kind and gene- 
rous to the poor among the early emigrants. His great 
wealth allowed the luxury of giving in no very stinted man- 
ner. Had the aborigines given him a name, as they did in 
many instances to the first settlers, for some peculiar quality, 
it would have been open-hand. His wife, although an excel- 
lent woman, did not always feel it her duty to be quite as 



XXVll] WESTERN. 709 

liberal as the General. Oa one occasion, he rebuked her in 
such a kind and feeling manner, that the incident is believed 
to be worth preserving. A poor man calling on the Greneral 
for aid, he went to his granary and measured a bushel of 
wheat and gave to him. Upon returning to his house, his 
wife gave him a short lecture, upon the impropriety of always 
giving, without knowing whether to a worthy and needy ob- 
ject or not. The General immediately turned to one of his 
men, who happened to be present, and directed him to go and 
measure another bushel of wheat, and give the man in the 
name of his wife, remarking, that he wished her to share with 
him the happiness of enjoying the poor man's gratitude. 

One of the early settlers had taken a lease of a lot of land 
of the General. The man did not possess that important 
trait of charactei*, industry, equal to the successful commence- 
ment on a new farm, and therefore did not succeed very well. 
At the end of a year, a few years after he had taken the 
lease, he found himself minus the means of paying his rent, 
and knowing his liability to be turned out of possession if he 
failed, as a last resort drove his only cow to the General to 
pay his yearly dues. The General it seemed, very well 
knowing the man's lack of industry, gave him a severe lec- 
ture, and asked him how many children he had at home. 
The man replied that he Jiad five, and that they were too 
young to help him. Aye, aye ! said the General, five small 
children, and too lazy to maintain them ; drive the cow home, 
go to work, and earn something to pay your rent next year. 

When the General removed from Long Island, he brought 
with him a considerable number of slaves of both sexes. He 
was a kind and good master, and provided every thing for 
their comfort. AVhen the law for the abolition of slavery in 
this state went into effect, these slaves became free, and 
many of them and their descendants yet remain in the town- 



710 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

About three years since, one of his old female slaves called at 
a house in the vicinity of the General's former residence, and 
referring to her former and present condition, told the woman, 
that she was very sorry she had her freedom given her. 
When she " lived with massa Floyd, he provided well for, 
and always treated her kindly, but that now she did not 
know how to take care of herself, and that she suffered for 
the necessaries of life." This is mentioned to show the feel- 
ing yet retained for him by the old servant. 

A number of anecdotes related of the General's dealings 
with his slaves, speak much for the man. He had a man 
named Bill, who was quite a favorite. Independence was to 
be celebrated at Fort Stanwix, and Billrequestedof his mas- 
ter a horse and some money, that he might attend. His re- 
quest was gi'anted, and Bill iu his Sunday best was at the 
celebration. He there heard that immortal instrument read, 
which declares that all men are created free and equal. He 
also partook rather freely of that which '• steals away the 
brains," and by the time he started for home, to use a sailors 
phrase, was " nearly half seas over," yet he managed on his 
iourney to preserve his equilibrium on his horse. As was his 
right, he cogitated by the way upon the beauties of the cele- 
bration, and at length came to the sage conclusion, that if <ill 
men were created equal, there was no good reason why massa 
Floyd should not turn out his horse when he got home, as he 
always turned out massa's horse when he rode out. In this 
frame of mind he arrived at home, and, riding up to the gate, 
halloos, '■ halloo, massa Floyd : " The General, who had re- 
tired, arose, raised the window, and asked of Bill what was 
wanting. He received as a reply, " I want massa Floyd to 
turn out the horse." The General discovering by the voice, 
the peculiar state of Bill's mind, answered, " well, well, in a 
minute," and proceeded at once to dress himself.- and very 



axvii.J western. 711 

gravely proceeded to take the horse, put the saddle and bri- 
dle in their places, and turn the animal 'into the pasture. 
Bill soon went to bed, and as we may suppose, slept off a, 
large quantum of his independence. The next morning, 
(|uite ashamed of the closing scene of his celebration, he ap- 
proached the General with an awkward apology, for his ludi- 
crous conduct, but the General replied, " never mind, never 
mind. Bill, that is all got along with," and never with Bill did 
he recur to the subject. Afterwards, when with his friends, 
he used to relate, with great glee, tlie active part he took in 
helping Bill finish his celebration of the glorious fourth. 

He had also a very tall man, named Tom, who from his 
height received the descriptive sobriquet of Long Tom. Tom 
was a great fox hunter, and his persecutions of poor reynard 
were carried on in the two-fold capacity of hunter and trap- 
per. In the season of the year when their fur was valuable, 
many of their stuffed skins hung in the lofts of the buildings 
as witnesses of Long Tom's skill and prowess in the destruc- 
tion of these wily lovers of poultry. This, of itself, speaks 
much for the indulgent kindness of the General to his people. 
Upon slaughtering his hogs one year, the General found that 
his best porker, weighing between three and four hundred 
pounds, was so diseased with measles as to be entirely worth 
less. The General therefore told Tom that he might have 
it to bait foxes, and at night the rest of the pork was taken 
into the house, but the diseased carcass was suffered to hang 
where it was dressed. After dark, Tom, without revealing to 
any one his plan, harnessed a team and took his present to 
Brayton's store and sold it. Being large and well fattened, 
it brought the highest price, or as dealers would say, it was 
sold at the " top of the market." The next morning Mr. 
Brayton discovering the utter worthlessness of his purchase, 
at once called upon the General for • an explanation, how he 



712 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAr. 

came to palm on him in the evening such an article. " What," 
says the General, '• that negro has not sold you that measly 
hog ! well, I will call the rascal, and we will see what he will 
say for himself." So Tom was called, and the General asked 
him if he received directions to sell the hog. " No, Massa,'' 
was the reply. " And what did I tell you ? " '• Massa Floyd 
gave me the hog." " I know," says the General " that I gave 
it you, but how did I tell you to use it ? " Poor darkey with 
the utmost sang-froid replied, " Massa Floyd gave me the 
measly pig to bait foxes — and I have caught the biggest fox 
iu town with it." The effect of the negro's wit upon the ris- 
abilties of the General and Mr. Braytou can well be imagined. 
Composure being restored, the General took the money from 
his pocket and paid back the price of the hog, leaving Tom 
to keep the pelf, not exactly acquired by peltry, but by suc- 
cessful fox baiting. 



XXVnt.] WESTMOr^ELAND. 713 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



WESTMORELAND. 



In tlie order of time this was the fourth town settled in 
the county, and Dean's Patent, now on its west line, was the 
first settled section of the town. James Dean, of whom a bi- 
ographical sketch is appended, located his patent in the fall 
of 1 780. For the gratification of his antiquarian readers, 
the author inserts the title of the act and the particular sec- 
tion authorizing this patent. The act was passed May 5th, 
1786. " ^;i ac^ for the speedy sale of the unappropriated 
lands within this State, and for other purposes therein men- 
tioned." 

Section xxv. — " And he it further enacted by the author- 
ity aforesaid^ that it shall and may be lawful for the said 
commissioners [of the land ofl&ce] to direct letters patent to 
be prepared and granted in the manner aforesaid, to grant to 
James Deane, his heirs and assigns, in fee simple, the follow- 
ing tract of land, to ivit : Beginning at a certain place where 
the west line of the patent of Coxborough [this line is known 
in all the old records and surveys as the line of property] 
crosses the stream or brook, formed by the junction of the 
streams or brooks called KanagJitaragcara [now known as 
Dean's Creek], and Kanyonskotta [the small stream nortli 
of the old mansion of Judge Dean, now owned by Luke C. 
Dean], it being one of the branches of the Oriskany Creek 
or Ptiver [this starting point is where Dean's Creek crosses 



714 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHaP. 

the line, between the farms of the late James Smith and of 
A. and E. R. Fitch], running thence north twenty-four de- 
grees and thirty minutes, west forty chains, thence south six- 
ty-five degrees and thirty minutes, west one hundred and six- 
ty chains, thence south twenty-four degrees and thirty min- 
utes east, one-hundred and sixty chains, thence north sixty- 
five degrees and thirty minutes east, one hundred and sixty 
chains, thence on a direct line to the place of beginning." 

By the same act, Wemple's Patent, of one mile square, was 
granted, to be bounded on the south line and east half of 
Dean's Patent, and Kirkiand's Patent, also of one mile square, 
was to be located west of Wemple's and south of Dean's. 
One moiety of Kirkiand's was in fee simple, and the other iu 
trust for the support of a minister of the gospel employed by 
the Oneida Indians. This last moiety is known as the mis- 
sionary lot. The Oneida Indians having previously given 
their right to the land to Mr. Dean, he with his brother Jon- 
athan felt so confident that the grant would be ratified by 
the State, that they removed to the patent in the February 
previous to the passage of the before recited act. At this tim.e 
the patentee was unmarried, but his brother had a wife and 
children. Mrs. Eunice Dean, the wife of Jonathan, was 
therefore the first female who settled in Westmoreland, and 
to give some idea of the hardships and deprivations she ex- 
perienced, within the first year of her residence, it is only 
necessary to state, that, at one time, for six successive weeks, 
neither she nor her family tasted of a morsel of bread. 

In the fall of this year (1786), Mr. James Dean went to 
Connecticut, and was married. He immediately returned 
with his wife, performing the journey on horseback, and they 
then commenced housekeeping. 

The Judge, for we shall now give James Dean this title 
for the sake of distinction (although he was not appointed to 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 715 

the office until some years afterwards), erected his humble 
domicil a few I'ods westerly from the present saw-mill of Luke 
C. Dean, and his brother had his dwelling a short distance 
easterly on the farm now owned by the widow Mary 3Iori- 
son. In the same autumn, this little community received an 
accession of a third family. Silas Phelps with his family 
removed from New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Mass.. 
and settled upon the next lot east of that of Jonathan Dean. 
Ilis log cabin stood near where a large apple tree yet stands 
on the farm and about equi-distant between the two dwelling 
houses of George Langford, Esq. This was the entire num- 
ber of families in the town in 1786. 

In January, 1787, Ephraim Blackmer and Nehemiah 
Jones, from New Marlborough, arrived. The author, a few 
years since, wrote a short chapter which was published in va- 
rious papers, giving an account of the last day's ride of Mr. 
Blackmer. Deeming it worth preserving, it is presented as 
originally given to the public, 

" In January, 1787, Ephraim Blackmei", Esq., and Capt. 
Nehemiah Jones removed from Berkshire County, Mass., to 
Dean's Patent. Esquire Blackmer came in advance, with a 
horse teain, bringing the families, consisting of their wives. 
Esquire Blackmer's two children, and Capt. Jones' one, some 
beds, bedding and clothing, while Capt. Jones followed more 
slowly with an ox team, with such furniture and provisions 
as were supposed necessary to commence housekeeping 
among the Indians, as their New England friends were 
pleased to term the location of the settlers here in • Deans- 
ville.' Esq. Blackmer staid the last night of his journey at 
Oriskany, a distance of about ten miles from Judge Dean's. 
The next morning he took, to use the teamster's phrase, an 
early start, that is, before sunrise, well knowing it would con- 



716 ANNALS OF ONEIBA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

sume the whole day to travel the distance, and wishing to get 
through before dark. (Probably they would have looked in- 
credulously at the idea of a rail road's being constructed in 
the then next half century, over a part of their route, carry- 
ing passengers at the rate of fifteen, twenty and even thirty 
miles per hour.) There was no road on any part of the dis- 
tance, nor track, except that of the Indian snow shoe, which 
rather impeded their progress, than otherwise. It was a bit- 
ter cold day, the snow about eighteen inches deep. By dint 
of untiring perseverance, our travellers had, by a little past 
the middle of the day, ken'd their way, to the spot near where 
the village of Hampton now stands. In crossing the creek a 
little north of said village, the stream being but partially fro- 
zen, the sleigh unluckily turned over, turning the women and 
children into the water, the youngest, a child of Mrs. Jones, 
less than one year of age, going completely under water. 
Happily the water was not deep enough to endanger them 
from drowning. In a few minutes they were all safe on 
shore, but in such a plight, or I might have said in ' such a 
pickle,' the women and children to a considerable extent, 
drenched in water, without a shelter or fire nearer than Judge 
Dean's, a distance of about four miles, which would cost more 
than that number of hours to reach, with the thermometer, if 
one could have been consulted, ranging near Zero, Would 
not our modern delicate females rather shudder at the thought 
of being placed in such a situation, and under such circum- 
stances ? But our settlers had no idea o-f being disheartened 
or discouraged. ' Necessity is the mother of invention.' 
Fortunately the chest of bed clothes had escaped the drench- 
ing. The seats were removed from the sleigh, and dry bed 
clothes spread over the bottom of it. The women and chil- 
dren then placed themselves on them, the brandy jug was in- 
troduced, and each one drank what they could bear, without 



XXVm.] WESTMORELAND. 717 

being too far intoxicated, and some two quarts of it sprinkled 
over them. (In those days, alcohol was used to keep people 
warm in winter, and cool in summer.) A large amount of 
dry bedding spread over them, completed their arrangements 
for the rest of their journey. After the first half hour, all 
fear of freezing gave way to the equally disagreeable one of 
suffocation. First, the water, and then the brandy, caused 
such a profuse perspiration, that our travellers could not liken 
the appearance of their sleigh to any thing more appropriate 
than a travelling coal pit. To conclude, they all safely ar- 
rived at Judge Dean's a little before dark. The women arc 
both yet living, and I have frequently heard them jocosely 
observe, that Judge Dean and lady's olfactory nerves must 
have borne strong testimony, that they had not been over 
temperate on their journey, but they always concluded by 
observing that not one of the party took even a ' slight cold.' " 

The same winter, and in the spring following, Joseph 
Jones and Joseph Blackmer, jr., arrived from New Marl- 
borough. Perhaps one or two others came this year, but this 
is uncertain ; it is, however, believed, that William Dean, a 
younger brother of the Judge, with a large family, came this 
season. 

In 1788, Samuel Laird, from New Marlborough, located 
himself at what is now known as Lairdsville, and soon after 
commenced keeping a public house, better known in the ear- 
ly days as a log tavern, and Pelatiah Rawson also came this 
year. Thus far the settlement of the town had been confined 
to Dean's Patent, but in this year Deacon John Blair settled 
on the farm lately purchased by Esquire Mills, the house on 
this farm being the first north of that of William Grifiin, on 
the road to Hampton. It is believed, there was no other in- 
habitant in town this year excepting those on Dean's Patent. 



718 ANNALS OF ONEIDA CO'JNTV. [CHAf 

Iq ITSO.tlie town commenced settling more rapidly. John 
and Nathaniel Townsend, brothers, arrived this year, and 
John settled on the farm now owned by his son of the same 
name, and Nathaniel upon the farm of the late Julius Cur- 
tiss. Benjamin Blackman also came the same year, and Cap- 
tain John Vaughan, Josiah Stillmau, and a number of others, 
came in this or the 3'ear following, and settled in that vicin- 
ity. Nathan Loomis also settled on the farm now owned by 
Benjamin and Tyler Seymour. As the history of the farm 
thus early settled by Mr. Loomis is peculiar, it is given in 
this place. Mr. Loomis resided upon it for but a short pe- 
riod, and sold it to Adonijah Strong. Mr. Strong cleared up 
much of the farm, and built a framed house and barn, and 
about 1797. sold out to Captain Peabody, grand-father of 
Abraham H. Halleck, Esq. The price is not precisely recol- 
lected, but is believed to have been §2,300. Eighteen hun- 
dred dollars were paid down, and a writing given by Peabody 
forfeiting the previous payment, and giving Strong the right 
to re-enter and disposses, if the balance was not paid by a 
specified day. The money being due, and Peabody absent 
at the east. it. from some casualty, was not forthcoming at 
the time, and Strong, taking the advantage given in the 
writing to the letter, re-entered and took the crops growing 
on the premises, except a very small quantity of wheat, which 
was harvested by Peabody in the night time. Peabody 
brought an action in a court of law, but the artfully drawn 
instrument precluded his recovery. He now made an agent 
of a son-in-law, who filed a bill in Chancery for the recovery 
of the payment. After years of delay in that almost inter- 
minable, though now obsolete court, a decree was obtained 
ordering Strong to refund the $1800 and interest. By this 
time, the expenses. co»ts, etc., incident to the suits an^d the 
'•law's delay," had drawn the whole from Strong, so that he 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 7I9 

was now compelled to sell the farm a second time, to raise the 
iijoney to pay the decree. This done. Peabodj's agent set 
about paying up the expenditures he had made in and about 
the several suits, and when completed, he had not a dollar 
left for his principal. This is a striking illustration of the 
old fable, in which the title to an oyster was contested, when 
it was decided, that the officers of the court should have the 
meat, and each of the litigants one half the shell. 

This year Joshua Green, with a family of sons and daugh- 
ters, removed from New Marlborough, to Dean's Patent. He 
settled and lived many years on the farm now owned by 
Luther Hunt, and his oldest son Israel, upon the farm now 
owned by Hector W. Roberts. 

Joseph Blackmer, sen., and his son-in-law, Captain Amos 
Smith, from the same place, settled this year upon the road, 
now the plank road, one and a quarter miles west of Lairds- 
ville. John Morse came this year, and soon after '• took up " 
the lot, the farm of the late James J. Curtiss. It is believed, 
that the section of the town in which Hampton Village is 
located, was also settled in 1789 .The late Daniel Seely was 
the first settler in this section. He took up, and resided a 
number of years on the farm which has since, and until re- 
cently, been owned by Samuel Haileck, and on which the De 
Lancy Institute is now situate. A Mr. Blodget is believed 
to have been the first settler in Hampton Village. 
, Elijah Smith and Samuel Starr located in that place 
early. There is a deed on record in the county clerk's office, 
executed in October, 1797, by George Washington and 
George Clinton, to said Smith and Starr, for 153 acres of 
land. This deed included the present farm of Capt. Noadiah 
Judson, and extended as far east as the north and south 
road, forming the four corners in the centre of Hampton. 
There is also another deed on record, executed bv WasUins- 



720 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

ton and Clinton, to Jolin Baxter, of 259^ acres of laud, 
dated September 2d, 1799, which was but a little more than 
three months previous to Gen. Washington's death. This 
deed included the farm of the late Jared Chittenden, Esq. 

The farm on which the late James Tompkins resided, now 
owned by Francis Watson, was held by a deed from Wash- 
ington and Clinton, executed by Clinton as the attorney for 
AVashington. Gen. Washington and George Clinton (the 
latter the first governor of this state, which office he held 
about twenty-one years, and died while vice-president) owned 
considerable tracts in Cox's Patent. Deeds from them are 
also found upon record given to Joseph Blodget for 358 
acres, and Daniel Babcock, Asa Turner, Stephen Hutchin- 
son, John Babcock and Ebenezer R. Fitch, for 152 acres, ail 
of Westmoreland; also deeds to Ephraim Besse, then of 
Cambridge ; Jedediah Sawyer, Nathaniel Griffin, Elias Hop- . 
kins. Glen and Bleecker, George Brownell, Messrs. Thomas 
Hart, Deodatus Clark, Rufus Willard and Judah Stebbius. 
Treat Baldwin, Darius Scovill, Peter Selleck, John Wicks, 
Nathan Thompson and David Ilisley,for farms now lying in 
AVhitestown, Paris, New Hartford and Westmoreland. 3Io&t 
of these deeds are executed by Clinton, as the attorney of 
Washington ; and after the death of the latter, George S. 
Washington, his devisee, conveyed his moiety in several 
farms ; among others, is 1,341 acres to John Young of Whites- 
town. ^ 

In 1790, Alexander Parkman, Esq., and Capt Stephen 
Brigham settled in the town, and a number came about this 
time, but the dates of their arrival cannot now be ascertained. 

The hardships and privations of the first settlers of West- 
moreland, it is believed exceeded that of any other town in 
the county. They were farther inland and from the Dutch 
settlements of the Mohawk. The nearest grist-mill was at 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 721 

the German Flats, and as horses were nearly out of the ques- 
tion, from the difficulty of keeping them in the woods, many 
ii time was the flour of a bushel of wheat brought that dis- 
tance on the back of the settler for the use of his family. 

The spring and summer of 1787 was one of the most co5d 
and rainy seasons known since the settlement of the county. 
Of course, clearing the land of its heavy timber was a slow 
and tedious process. But small patches were got in readi- 
ness in time to plant with Indian corn, and if the sun happened 
to shine between the showers, it was but a small portion of 
the day that their little corn fields could receive its genial 
rays, by reason of the surrounding forest. Rain and shade 
had so prevented its maturing, that the first frost found it, 
when not a tithe of it had commenced glazing. After the 
frost, its effluvia was most offensive, and flies preyed upon it 
as on carrion. Still it was their all, and it was dried as they 
best could, in the sun when it shone, and at other times by 
their fires. Thus prepared it was pounded in a samii-rnortar ^ 
of which almost every settler had a specimen, formed by 
burning out the end of a log. Within the author's recollec- 
tion, although the erection of mills had rendered them use- 
Jess, these mementos of the days of hardships were preserved 
with care. 

Trials and privations were unmurmuringly endured. Hope 
rointed to those " better days a coming." As long as th« 
early pioneers lived, without exception, they spoke with en- 
thusiasm of the enjoyments of a border life. In a few years 
oomforts clustered around them, and the virgin soil yielded 
its hundred fold. In 1787 or 1788, Judge Dean built a saw- 
mill, and the year after a grist-mill. The first run of mill- 
stones in this mill was manufactured by Edward Higbee 
from a large granite rock, found a few rods easterly from 
Samuel Laird's dwelling. The remnant of this rock, with 

46 



722 ANNAL3 OF ONEIDA COJNTT. [CHAr 

the marka of the drill left by Mr Bigbee. is still to l)c seen 
within the limits of the plank roEwl, and but a few feet froir^ 
the travelled path, perhaps ten rods from the present resi- 
dence of Franklin Smith. In quality these stones were very 
little inferior to the best French burr. A little later. Higbee 
erected another grist niill. on the stream, in quite the east 
part of the town. 

The north part of the town was settled much later. Me- 
Kesson's Patent, known by the early inhabitants as the " two 
mile tract," lies in the north-westerly part of the town, and 
on which the- village of Lowell is situated, was firs* settled in 
180!2._ Stephen Stilaon, in that year, became the first settler. 
but was, however, in the same year, followed by Doddridge 
Loomia. who " took tup " the lot now owned by his brother. 
Capt. William Loomis, and, it is believed, that John Tuttle 
(who took up the lot on which Lowell is located), Zebulon 
Tuttle, Caleb Thurston, Calvin Adams and David Stilson all 
came in that year. 

In 1303, Sullivan Brigham. Abel Brigham. Cyrus Rice- 
Isaiah Shed, Joseph Perkins, Ezekiel Miller, James H.emp- 
sted, Amos Smith, Nathan Adams and Park Adams settled 
on the tract. Perhaps, there were others, but in that respect 
the author is unadvised. 

In the north-easterly part of the town, Captains Lay and 
Lee, Sherman Patterson and his sons. John and Josiah Pat- 
terson, Isaac Goodsell. William and Ebenezer Cheever, Greo. 
and Consider Law, Elijah Waters, Thomas- Barnum, Ebene- 
zer, Ephraim and Ileman Besvse, George Williams, Alfred 
itichardeon, a family of Peckhams, another of Bicknells, 
and another of Barkers, Samuel Bailey, John Nicholson, 
Henry Halleck. Potter Doolittle, and many others, settled 
in the latter part of the last and early in the present cen- 
tury On and near the road between Hampton and the 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 723 

furnace, Walter Cone, William, Josiah and Jonathan Patten, 
John Bowen, Stephen Hutchinson, Stephen Brigham and 
Daniel Babcock, were first settlers. East of Hampton, Ches- 
ter Stillman, Samuel Collins, Benjamin Watersj Nathan 
Thompson and John Baxter, were the first. 



GEOLOGY, ^C. 



There is nothing peculiar in the geology of Westmorelandl 
A large portion of the land is descending, to the north and; 
north-east. The extreme south-west corner is the highest, 
and just above the Gilmore school house it extends for a 
few rods upon the high limestone region of the south part of 
the county. Descending from, that point to the north, but a 
short distance, the red shale makes its appearance. This, 
although not in a continuous body, but in detached masses in 
iiear proximity, extends aeroissthecounty from a point a short 
distance south of Utica, keeping south of the Seneca plank 
road, passing out of the county near Oneida Castle, and 
from thence extending across Madison County. This red 
shale in some places in this town is more than 100 feet in 
depth. There are occasionally small masses of green shale, 
irregular in position, found within it. The water has, in 
some instances, worn deep gullies into it. In the side of the 
hill near the residences of Capt. I. F. Goodwin and Gershom 
Wood, the largest and deepest gully has been formed, and 
upon digging a well, Mr. Wood found that the earth to the 
depth of eighteen fe€t had been formed by this shale, washed 
from the hill. There is no more productive land in the 
county than the flats formed by this shale, thus washed down. 
Descending still northwardly, the iron region commences, 
and the iron ore is found near the surface, a little east and 



724 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAr, 

north of Lairdsville. Large quantities of this ore has been 
heretofore used in the Westmoreland, Lenox, Onondaga, 
Paris and some other furnaces. Over the iron ore there are 
inexhaustible quarries of building stone. Some strata of the 
stone are made up of myriads of small shells, intermingled 
with iron. Other strata are blue, with straight seams and 
very fine for building purposes. The rock and the vein of 
iron ore have a considerable dip to the south-west. Still de- 
scending lower, and but a few feet higher than the Oriskany 
Greek where it forms the east line of the town, is a quarry 
of sand-stone. It is presumed to be extensive, but it lies so 
deep, that it has only been found near enough to the surface 
to be quarried upon the farms of Deacon Thomas Halbert 
and David Mansfield. Near the Verona Springs, the ledge 
of granite formation crosses the west line of the town, and 
which crosses the Rome and Madison plank road, about one 
hundred rods south of Lowell. Its course is north-easterly, 
crossing the road from Lowell to Hampton, about a mile east 
of the former place, and terminates a short distance from 
Oriskany Village. It consists of thick heavy layers, from 
three to four feet in thickness, and some blocks are very 
extensive, while others are so small that they can be used for 
walls. Still lower, and further north on the road from Low- 
ell to Rome, is a quarry of blue free-stone. This stone cut,s 
■well, and has been extensively used for all purposes, for which 
cut etone is necessary. This quarry extends nearly to the 
north-west corner of the town. One layer of this stone was 
formerly used to some extent for grindstones, but the supe- 
riority of the Nova Scotia stones, and present low prices, 
have thrown them into disuse. This quarry lies some five or 
six hundred feet lower than the limestone from whence we 
started in the south-west corner of the town. 

The quality of the land, for farming purposes, in West- 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 725 

moreland, is very various. The flats formed where the gulf 
brook empties the valley of the Oriskany, known in the vi- 
cinity as the Townsend flats, and a portion of the land in the 
neighborhood of Hampton, are equal to any in the county, 
and, excepting for wheat, are equal to any in the State. 

The land lying west and north-west of Lowell Village is 
what may be termed first quaility. A considerable portion 
of the town is good second rate land, and a portion in the 
northern half is swampy, cold, and far better for grass than 
grain. This section is, however, Susceptible of great improve- 
ment, and where a good farmer has gone into the draining 
and sub-soiling systems in earnest, the improved appearance 
of the farm and crops show that the labor has been profitably 
invested. 

A hurricane of tremendous power passed through this 
town from west to east in August, 1777. Its ravages, in de- 
tached places, could be traced from the Oneida Lake to 
Cooperstown, but in no section did it seem to expend its 
force with that fury as here. Its track was from a half a mile 
to a mile in width. So far as the author has been able to 
learn, it was witnessed by none but the wild denizens of the 
forest, but its devastations, however, show it to have been most 
terrific. The entire mighty forest in its course was prostra- 
ted. When this town was first settled, the yet undecayed 
prostrate trunks, and up-turned surface, showed that none 
but " Him who holds the winds in his fists " could have pro- 
duced such mighty results. Where the second growth tim- 
ber has not been removed, and the surface levelled by the 
plow, its route can still be traced. At the time of th« first 
settlement, the second growth trees were but small poles 
merely large enough to be beyond the reach of cattle, but 
those parts of the forest remaining are now the heaviest and 
most valuable timbered lands in the vicinity. A large pro- 



726 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

portion of the second growth timber was of -different varie- 
ties, from the primitive growth, ash, cherry, butternut and 
1)ass-wood generally prevailing. 



HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES. 



In the month of August, 1806, this town was the scene of 
one of the most heart-rending tragedies to be found in the 
history of the county. Mrs. Betsey Halleck, wife of Henry 
Halleck, who resided on the road from Hampton Village to 
Home, in cold blood, cut the throats of her four daughters, 
and then finished her work of blood by cutting her own. 
Her previous life had been one of untarnished excellence. 
She had been a good daughter, wife and mother. Her ar- 
rangements were made in the most perfect manner to precluda 
interruption or prevention. Although the deed must have 
been determined upon for days, she did nothing by one 
word or act to cause suspicion of mental aberration, or of her 
bloody purpose. She chose for the time, when her husband 
was absent, for the afternoon, at the raising of a building in the 
vicinity of their residence. She swept the floor, covered the 
fire, and placed the house in the most perfect order. Taking 
a razor from its case, she then lured her four little daughters. 
the eldest eight years of age, the youngest an infant, into a 
corn field, where the grain at that season was so thick and 
high as to screen her from the observation of any who might 
happen to pass by, thus secure from observation, she cut the 
throats of her four children, and then put an end to her own 
existence in the same manner. As no eye but that of Om- 
niscience witnessed the deed, it is unknown which was the 
first victim. It seemed that the oldest daughter after her 



SXVm.j WESTMORELAND. '/27 

throat was cut ran a few rods, leaving her blood sprinkled 
upon the standing corn, «,nd that then she was overtaken by 
the mother and the work completed. It also appeared, that 
the first time she aptplied the razor to her own throat, its edge 
was cai^ht by her jaw inflicting but a slight wound. She 
then seemed t© have nerved her arm with a frantic despera" 
tion, and striking a second blow almost severed her head 
from her body. Upon her husband's return, and finding the 
house in order as described, he sought for his wife's bonnet, 
tind found it in its usual piece, but discovered that his razor 
had been taken from its case. The dreadful truth immedi- 
ately flashed upon his mind, and he proceeded to a neighbor's 
house, the alarm was given, and the lifeless bodies were soon 
discovered in the corn field. Upon preparing the bodies for 
the grave, it was found that of this even she had not been 
'inmindful, for in her chest were suits of grave clothes for the 
iive, recently washed and ironed and placed in order for each 
from the eldest to the y£>ungest. This sad office performed, 
the husband and father then went to view all that remained of 
■what at noon of that day composed his pleasant and happy 
family. Until then his Christian fortitude had sustained 
him, but the sight was too much for his endurance, and he 
fell senseless to the floor. 

The funeral was attended in Hampton, and the Rev. Mr. 
(Jarnahan, pastor of the " united societies of Whitestown and 
old Fort Schuyler," addressed the large assembly, which had 
come to witness the desolation caused by this most unnatur 
al act of a mother. The remains of the five were buried in 
one common grave, and the mystery, which has ever enshroud- 
ed the awful tragedy, will remain unsolved until the great day 
when the secrets of all hearts shall be laid open before a 
righteous judge. Notwithstanding all the coolness and cau- 
tion which characterized the preparation for, and exectition 



7'28 AN'XALS OF ONEIDA couwrr. [CHAr 

of the terrible design few or none doabted but that Mrs 
Halieck was at the time laboring under a religious mono-ma- 
nia. Doubtless, she was suffering under a gloomy desponden- 
vy as to her own salvation, and believing in the happiness of 
tho.se who die in infaney. she formed the dreadful resolve to- 
'^ rush uncalled," with her offspring, into her Maker's pres- 
ence, and thus ensure their future- welfare. Aside from this 
unprecedented finale, but few circumstances came to light 
upon whieh to predicate such a belief It was well known, 
that she had been in a desponding state of mind, and a fe^s 
days previously to the deed, she asked her husband's opin- 
ion as to the future state of children who died before the age 
of accountability, lie replied, that he believed the balance of 
scripture testimony to be in favor of their future well being. 
The author closes this sad o'er-true tale with the question 
from inspiration, " shall not the Judge of all the earth df 
right." 

Mt. John Parkman, sou of Alexander Parkman. Esq . 
aged thirty-sis years, was shot July 9th, 1818. The circum 
stances were brieffy these. Some boys, belonging to four 
most respectable families in the neighborhood, went in- the 
evening to shoot j\h'. Parkman's dog. They did this by way 
of retaliation for some injuries received by their own dogs. 
The young men, some five or six in number, stopped in the 
road in front of Mr. Parkman's house, when his dog com- 
menced barking at them. James Slnith, jr., one of the num- 
ber had a heavy gun, one of those muskets known in olden 
times as " king's arms," which, as shown by the effect pro 
duced, was heavily loaded with powder and ball. While the 
dog was barking, although from the darkness but indistinctly 
seen, Smith resting upon the road fence fired, but missed the 
dog. Mr. Parkman was in bed, and his child then sick with 
whooping-cough was lying in a child's bed at the foot of his 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 729 

own. The child requiring some attention. Mr. Parkman 
arose in a sitting position in his bed just in time to receive 
the ball through his heart. If the gun had been fired but a 
few seconds sooner, the ball would have passed harmlessly 
over his bed. Before reaching him, it passed through a three- 
quarter-inch clap-board, a two-inch plank and the lath and 
plaster upon the wall. After passing through his body, it 
passed through another thickness of lath and plaster, an inch 
board, a third thickness of lath and plaster, and then struck 
a board with force so expended that it fell on the floor. The 
next morning, the young men ail gave themselves up to the 
officers of justice, admitting every part of the transaction, but 
Smith only, was bound over to court. In a few months he 
was tried, convicted, and sentenced to State's Prison for 
three years. He was convicted upon one of the common law 
definitions of the ofience of manslaughter, " extreme careless- 
ness, while engaged in committing a trespass." Although 
our courts were governed by that definition, still the punish- 
ment prescribed by our statutes was far more severe' for the 
lower grades of this off'ence than in England, from whence 
we received the common law. The injustice of such a state 
of things was never more manifest than in this case, but pow- 
erful concentrated public opinion corrected the wrong. The 
• foreman of the grand jury which fou-nd the bill of indictment, 
every man of the petit jury by which he was convicted, the 
court, the bar, and every citizen, who could be reached in 
season, as well as the father of the deceased, signed a petition 
for an immediate pardon. The petition was forwarded iu 
haste to DcWitt Clinton, then Governor, and a pardon gran- 
ted before the court had adjourned, and before Smith had 
been removed from the place of trial. Happily, our revised 
statutes, in the more perfect classification of homicides, have 
rendered it impossible that such a state of things should 



730 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAF 

again happen. Now, a short term in the county jail, or a 
small fine, can be imposed by the court for the lower grades 
of manslaughter. No unprejudiced person at the time be- 
lieved, that Smith or his companions intended to do any vio- 
lence to the person of Farkman. On the trial, Smith's char- 
acter was proved by tho whole neighborhood to have been en- 
tirely good, and ever since he has well maintained his previ- 
ous good reputation. 

Abeut the years 18 IG or '17, a young maa named Judson, 
who resided, with his father, a short distance east of Hampton, 
was accidentally shot, under the following circumstances : 
Upon a militia training day, and after the company had been 
dismissed, some of the men were engaged^ as was the custom, 
in firing their pieces with blank cartridges. Mr. Palmer Cone, 
son of Walter Cone, had loaded his gun, but from some defect, 
he could not discharge it. Another member of the company 
primed his piece, and held it so as to ignite the powder in the 
pan of Cone's gun, which was held in a horizontal position, and 
just as it was dischai;ged, Judson, not knowing the state ot 
things, stepped before the muzzle and received the charge in 
his groin. The wound -was a very severe one, but the wad 
was extracted, and for several days he was thought to be 
doing well. Suppuration taking place, and the main artery 
of the leg having been injured by the powder, it burst, and 
he bled so rapidly, that his father, who was immediately called 
from the barn near hj, did not arrive in the heuse until he 
had expired. The public being so well satisfied that the oc- 
currence was purely accidental, although the result of care- 
lessness on the part of all concerned, no legal proceedings 
were had in the matter. 

Orrin L. Fenton, aged twenty-five y«ars, who resided with 
his father, Amariah Fenton, one mile west of Lairdsville, ac- 
cidentally shot himself, June 4th, 1843. He went out with 



XXVra.] WESTMORELAND. 73 i 

his rifle to shoot crows, and when about a quarter of a mile 
south of his father's house, in getting over a fence, his rifle 
went ofi", and the ball entering his head just back of the right 
ear, passed out about three inches above. Its course was so 
near the inner surface of the skull, that it cracked it from one 
orifice to the other. A variation of half an inch outwardly., 
and he would have been unharmed. He fell entirely uncon- 
scious, and so remained about twenty-two hours, when he ex- 
pired. 



A Heroine. — Mr. Samuel Bailey was an early settler about 
three miles and a half north of Hampton, on the road from 
that place to Rome. One day when Mr. Bailey was absent, 
his wife heard a dismal squeal from one of their hogs, some 
sixty rods distant in the woods, by the side of the road towards 
Hampton. She immediately ran to ascertain the cause of 
the trouble, and found their porker in the clutches of a huge 
bear. Armed with nothing but a club, picked up for the oc- 
casion, she beat oif the bear fi'osi the swine. Bruin, however, 
retreated but a few feet, seemiiig loth to leave the repast upon 
which he had but just commenced. Mrs. Bailey, undaunted, 
took a position between the two, the bear making various an- 
gry demonstrations, by growling and showing his ivory. The 
woman, however, was determined to maintain her right of 
property in the mangled domestic animal, at the hazard even 
of her life. How long her tour of duty lasted she could not 
determine, as minutes seemed hours. The bear made no ef- 
fort to attack her, but seemed intent only upon regaining its 
prey and dinner, but the up-lifted club every where met him 
as he attempted it. Opportunely, a man, on horseback, made 
his appearance, and perceiving the dilemma of the woman, 
immediately gave the alarm to two carpenters who were at 



732 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP, 

work for Mr. Bailey, a short distance from his house. The 
three soon reinforced our heroine, when the bear finding the 
odds so strongly against him, beat a hasty retreat into the 
forest, thus relieving the faithful sentinel, and leaving her 
mistress of the field. Few instances can be found of greater 
lieroism than here displayed, and none but the woman fitted 
for the settlement of a new country, would have dared dispute 
for the prize with the most savage of all the denizens of the 
iVmerican forest. 

In the latter part of the summer of 1796, a most virulent 
dysentery swept ofi" many children and a few adults in the 
town. It was tlie most severe upon Dean's Patent, although 
at the time no local cause was suspected. The author well 
recollects that in his neighborhood, two died in each of three 
families, so near the same time, that the six were buried in 
three coffins, and all within a few days, and he further recol- 
lects of hearing his father state, after the disease had abated. 
" that fifteen had died within call of his house," and that in a 
sparse population, much more so than at present. This was 
the same year that the disease prevailed in Floyd. 

lu 1700, General Amherst with a British army of 10.000 
men. on his way to complete the conquest of Canada (Quebec 
having been taken the preceding year), marched through 
Oneida County, on his way to Oswego. From old Fort 
Schuyler he kept across the country to Oneida Castle. His 
roHte was through what is now the south-west part of West- 
moreland, parallel with, and about half a mile south of the 
present plank road. In a piece of wood-land, south of the 
author's residence, this old military road can still be distinct- 
ly traced, for the distance of about sixty rods. When the 
land was first cleared upon tliis road, remains of cause-ways 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 733 

made by the pioneers of the army, for the passage of baggage 
wagons and artillery, were discovered, and in other places the 
ruts made by the wheels were plainly to be seen. 

What was singular, when the land over which this road 
ran was first cleared of its timber, Canada thistles immediate- 
ly made their appearance in a number of places, and these 
were the only ones known in the vicinity, for the first twenty 
years after the settlement of the town. Qttcrc : had their 
seed lain upon the surface of the ground for thirty years, and 
then, when the timber was cleared away, and they were reach- 
ed by the rays of the sun, were they capable of germinating i 

The following is a list of twenty persons who moved into 
town within the first five years of its settlement, with the 
ages of eighteen at the time of their 'decease, and of two yet 
living. Their names are inserted in the order, or nearly so, 
of their arrival. Notwithstanding the hardships they endur- 
ed, it is remarkable that such a number could be selected 
from so small a population, whose ages averaged over eighty- 
five years. 

James Dean, died in the 76th year of his age. . 



Jonathan Dean, " 


81st 


Eunice, his wife, " 


83d 


Silas Phelps, *' 


8rth 


Lucy his wife, " 


97th 


Nehemiah Jones, •' 


79th 


Anna his wife, " 


82d 


Mary, relict of 




Ephraim Blackmer, " 


86th 


Joseph Jones, " 


79th 


Joseph Blackmer, " 


81st 


John Townsend, " 


83d 



Benj. Blackman. (yet living) 90th 



734 AJfNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY [CHAP 

Amos Smith, died in the 84th year of his age. 
John Vaughan, '• 88th 

Benjamin Waters, " 101st '■ 

Stephen Brigham, '• 9&th 

Alexander Parkman •• 82d '• 

Amos Dodge, (yet living) 93d " 

Peleg Havens, died in the 87th '• 

David Hawkins. '• 82d 

The first death in this town was- that of Oren Jones, an i:-;- 
fant. a few months old, son of Nehemiah Jones," and brother 
of the author, who died March 29th, 1788. At the time of 
writing the notices of Kirkland, and of the death by drown- 
ing of Miss Tuttle, it was supposed that hers was the first 
death of a resident within the county, but the precise time 
cannot be ascertained, nearer than that it was in the same 
spring, and probably later than that of thi& infant. The wri- 
ter's mother has often said in his hearing, " that leaving her 
friends in New England, and enduring all the privations of 
the new settlement, never caused her a tear, until after the 
death of her babe, and then the reflection that it must bo 
buried without a coflSn, as boards could not be procured near- 
er than the German Flats (and from the brealang up of 
winter, the roads and streams were nearly or quite impassa- 
ble), caused her to weep."' But her trouble, on this account, 
was of short duration, for Esquire Ephraim Blackmer soon 
put her mind at ease, by telling her, that he had the sleigh box 
in which they removed into the country, and which he would 
use for the purpose, and from it he made a very decent coffin. 

The first death of an adult in town was that of Pelatiah 
Bawson, father of the late Pelatiah Rawson, a graduate of 
Hamilton College, and a teacher in seminaries at Whitesboro. 
Rome and Clinton The elder Mr. Rawson resided about 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELANI?. 735 

half a mile south-cast from the Hecla Works, and died very 
suddenly in the summer of 1789. 

The first marriage in the town was that of Sir. Samuel 
Hubbard of Clinton, and Miss Mary Blair, eldest daughter 
of Beacon John Blair, already named. It was solemnized 
March 23d. 1790, by Rev. John Sargeant, the Indian Mis^ 
siouary. in the rude log cabin of the settler, which &tood near 
the first framed house north of William' Griffin^s. on the 
Hampton road. It can Eot now be ascertained that there 
were any other marriagea in to^vn previously to the settle- 
ment of Mr. Bradley. By his entries, on the church book, 
it appears that October 17th, 1793, he married Mather Bos- 
worth and Bathsheba Deraing; February 24th, 1794, Daniel 
Williams and Lovina Hovey ; May 8th, 1794, Peter Pratt 
and Dolly Smith : August 17th, 1794, Samuel Cornwell and 
Hannah Finney; November 12th, 1794, Asahel Porter and 
Abigail Smith. These were probably all the marriages in 
town within the first eight years after its settlement. 

The first merchant in Westmoreland was Abraham Van 
Eps. who, as will be seen by his biography in the history of 
Vernon, here very early established himself in business. It 
has been stated as a fact, that, although a considerable number 
of merchants and mercantile firms commenced business in this 
town within the forty years after its settlement, all, with the 
exception of Mr Van Eps, failed. Lest this should go to the 
discredit of the town, the writer gives the reasons, as related by 
a citizen of an adjoining town, who had attentively obserfed 
the business operations of those merchants a considerable 
number of years. It should be borne in mind, that, in those 
days, almost all business was conducted upon credit system, 
as the merchant purchased upon credit in New York, and 
sold his goods upon a year's credit, the pay-day arriving in 
the spring or fall. The individual referred to statetJ, '• that 



7-30 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. fCHAP. 

the Westmoreland merchants had been in the habit of selling 
their goods at such high prices, that they drove the indepen- 
iJent farmers to Utica and other places where they could pur- 
chase much cheaper, retaining but the very poorest class of 
customers, a considerable proportion of whom eventually 
failed to pay, which in the end broke down the merchant."^ 
For the last quarter of a century, a new class of merchants 
have secured a good share of the business of their townsmen, 
and have well sustained themselves. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

There are nine houses of public worship in this town, viz : 
three for Methodists, three for Baptists, two for Congrega- 
tionalists and one Friends' meeting house. Two of these 
houses, that of the Baptists in LairJsville and that of the 
Congregatioualists in Lowell, are at present unoccupied. 

The first religious society formed in town, the " First Con- 
gregational Church in Westmoreland," was constituted Sep- 
tember 20, 1792, by the Rev. William Bradford, he acting 
moderator of the meeting. At its formation, it included fif- 
teen members, eight males and seven females, and Xehemiah 
Jones was the first clerk. On the 14th of May, 1793, the 
church gave Mr. Joel Bradley, a native of Hampden, near 
New Haven, Connecticut, a call to become their pastor, and 
he was ordained, and settled July 16th of the same year. 
Upon the occasion of the ordination. Rev. Ammi R. Robbin<= 
preached the ordination sermon. Rev. Samuel Kirkland gave 
the charge, and the Rev. Dan Bradley gave the right hand of 
fellowship. 

The first deacons, Thomas Halbert, sen., and Natlianiel 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 737 

Townsend were appointed October lOtli, 1793. Deacon 
Halbert, sen., held the office until November 1st, 1822, when, 
as a peculiar coincidence, his son, Thomas Halbert, was chosen 
in his place, and he held the office at the time of his death 
in the summer of 1851 — an office which was filled by those 
of the same name for more than fifty-seven years. The late 
Deacon Halbert, at his decease, and his wife, were the oldest 
members of the church, having joined June 6, 1800. 

Mr. Bradley continued his pastoral labors until April 7th. 
1 800, when he was dismissed by the advice of a council, 
convened for the occasion. This was very much to the grief 
of the church, by whom he was greatly beloved and esteemed. 
The causes which led to his dismission were a division in the 
•society, and the erection of two meeting houses in 1798; 
one, their present house at Hampton, the other upon " South 
Street." Heart-burnings and bickerings continued between 
the north and the south, and Mr. Bradley could no longer 
be useful. 

This state of things continued until 1803, when the two 
j3ortions united, and agreed to occupy the house at Hampton 
as their place of worship, and the south sold their house to the 
Methodists. Mr. Bradley was afterwards settled as pastor 
at Ballston Springs, where he continued his labors for a few 
years, when his health having failed, he was obliged to discon- 
tinue preaching. He returned to Westmoreland, and united 
with his old church again as a private member, but. in a short 
time, he removed to Clinton, without, however, changing his 
church relationship. 

In October, 1822, his health having partially recovered, 
and having received an invitation to settle at Orville, now 
DeWitt, Onondaga County, he was dismissed to that church, 
<ind was subsequently installed over the church at that place. 
He died August Sd, 1 824, and his funeral was attended just 

47 



738 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

a year from the day of his installation. The Rev. Hezekiab 
Woodruff of Manlius, preached both the installation and fu- 
neral sermons. His death was very sudden, as hia disease, 
the typhus fever, did not assume an alarming form until 
within three hours of his decease, when it arrived at its crisis, 
and he sanli in that length of time into the arms of death. 
He left on his table an unfinished sermon, from the test, 
'• Why stand ye here all the day idle."' He was most emphat- 
ically a good man. We have penned the foregoing, with the 
most hallowed feeling of veneration for him who preached to 
us the first sermon, and was our first pastor. 

From 1800 to 1804, the church was without a pastor. A 
Mr. May preached to them for a short time, and the Eev. 
Robert Porter, preceptor of Hamilton Oneida Academy, sup- 
plied them about a year, but for a considerable portion of the 
time they were without stated preaching. 

In April, 1804, they gave Mr. James Eells a call to be- 
come their pastor, which was accepted, and he was ordained 
July 11th of the same year. The council, which assisted in 
his ordination, were the Rev. Messrs. Steele, Kirkland. Nor- 
ton, Spencer, Johnson, Woodward and Knapp 

June 10th, 1821, the church paid out of their treasury 
twenty dollars for foreign missions, which was their first con- 
tribution to that object. 

Mr. Eells was dismissed from his charge February 10th, 
1825. He had been a successful pastor and preacher, and 
during his ministration, of more than twenty years, the church 
had been largely increased, but as the records of the cliurcij 
for twelve years of the term are lost, the extent cannot be 
ascertained. 

After the dismissal of Mr. Eells, he removed to Ohio, where 
he resided a number of years. He is now superannuated and 
resides in Auburn in this state. 



XXVm.] WESTMORELAND. 739 

The Rev. Abijah Crane was installed soon after Mr. Eells 
was dismissed, and continued as pastor until June 17, 1832, 
when he was dismissed. 

Edward Fairchild was inptalled July 3, 1833, and with- 
drew February 26th, 1836. 

John Ingersoll preached as stated supply from Marcb, 
1836, to March, 1838. 

ilev. Nathaniel Hurd became the stated supply Marcb, 
1838, and left March, 1841. 

The present pastor, the Rev. Franklin A. Spencer, com- 
menced his labors with this people April 1st, 1841. He was 
installed in September, 1850. 

This was constituted a Congregational church, in 1819, it 
adopted what was then known as the " accommodating plan," 
a plan partly Presbyterian and partly Congregational. In 
November, 1821, that plan was abandoned, and the plan of 
the Oneida Presbytery adopted. The church has more re- 
cently discontinued its connection with the Presbytery, and 
is now a purely independent Congregational body. At this 
time (1 851) it numbers about 200 members. 

An independent Congregational Church was formed about 
1820, in Lowell, and in 1824, the church and society erected 
a very respectable house for worship. The Rev. Mr. Holmes, 
an English clergyman, was their first pastor, and during his 
stay the congregation was quite large, and the church and 
society flourishing. After a few years he left, and was suc- 
ceeded by Mr. Jackson, also an English clergyman. He re- 
mained btic a few years, when this body began to decline, awl 
in a few years more became extinct. Their house of worship 
was sold in 1850. 

Methodists. — The Episcopal Methodists had a class in 
this town at a very early period, and which is believed to 



740 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAF. 

have teen gathered between 1795 and 1798. They were 
supplied by circuit preachers, and here justice requires the 
remark, that these indefatigable, itinerant heralds of the 
cross, and of the discipline of "Wesley, did much in propaga- 
ting the gospel in this town. This society met for worship 
in private dwellings, until about the time that the Congre- 
gational society became united in occupying the house in 
Hampton, when the Methodists purchased their house upon 
"South Street." They occupied this house until 1835, when 
they deemed it advisable to divide the society, one portion 
erecting a house for worship in Hampton, the other in Laird."?- 
ville. The society in Hampton was much the largest of the 
two, and has a commodious liouse of worship, which has been 
recently refitted and improved. The society in Lairdsville 
for a while flourished, and had many additions, but for a few 
years past has been small. In the winter of 1850 and '51, 
this society experienced a revival, and received considerable 
accessions to its numbers. The society has had preaching 
one half of each Lord's-day since its formation, by the preacher 
having both the societies in charge, but who is located in Hamp- 
ton. The following clergymen have officiated in the two socie- 
ties since their organization, viz.: Rev. Messrs. Harvey, Simon, 
Everdell, Fox, Freeman, Paddock, Foster, Matteson and Row. 
The third Methodist society is located in Lowell, and was 
organized, and erected a house of worship in 1838. 

Gethscmaiic {Episcopal) Chnrch at Hampton. This 
church was organized about the commencement of the year 
1842, and for a time was supplied by the Rev. Stephen Mc- 
Hugh of Oriskany. Subsequently the Rev. Mr. Staples took 
charge of the church, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Spal- 
ding, the present incumbent. In addition to their labors as 
pastors of this church, Messrs. McHugh, Staples and Spal- 



XXVill.] WESTMORELAND. 741 

diug Lave Lad tLe principal cLarge of tLc DcLancy Institute, 
un academy in this village. TLe institute is under tLe aus- 
pices of tLe Episcopal denomination, and Las at present 
about forty-pupils. TLe cLurch are making arrangements 
to erect a Louse for worsLip tLe coming year. 

The First Baptist Church was constituted Maxell 17tL, 
1803, witL eleven members, seven males and four females. 
One of tLis number, ElijaL Waters, is yet living in the north 
part of tLe town. lie is now ninety-one years of age, and 
can read tLe finest print witLout glasses, never Laving been 
under tLe necessity of using tLem. In MarcL, 1804, Mr. 
Ora Butler came to preach to them, and was ordained, and 
became tlieir pastor the same year. He continued as their 
pastor until Lis death, in February, 1811. During his labors 
the church and society erected a small house for worship in 
Lairdsville. He was a good preacher, and during most of 
Lis pastorate, tLe cLurcL was prosperous. After tLe deatL of 
Elder Butler, Elders Haseall, Gorton, Kincaid, Wade, 
PLileo. BeacL, LaHatt, Bicknell, Green, Simmons, Ileed and 
Belden preached to this people for different periods. Besides 
Elder Butler, Messrs. Kincaid and Simmons were called and 
ordained over this church. Messrs. Kincaid and Wade arc 
now missionaries in India. Although this body has become 
extinct, and their house of worship left desolate, yet it Las 
not been inaptly termed the " mother of churches." The 
Yernon, Verona, second Westmoreland and Clinton churches 
were, at different times, taken from it. The parent stock Lad 
so often been bereft of its brancLes, and its limits become so 
cii'cumscribed, tbat at length it lost its visibility. It was 
tLe fiftL cLurch of the denomination constituted in the coun- 
ty, those at Whitestown, Deerficld, Paris and Sangerfield 
only being its seniors. 



742 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Sccoitd Baptist Church. — This body is located iu the 
north-easterly part of the town. Previously to 1817, this 
part of the town was comparatively new, yet a few of this de- 
nomination had settled here, and united with the first Bap- 
tist church. In the winter of 1817 and '18, a revival of re- 
ligion was experienced in this section, and conference and 
prayer meetings were frequent, and well attended. The mem- 
bers belonging to the first church living here, were remote 
from the place of worship at Lairdsville, made a request to 
that body for permission to organize as a branch church. 
The request was granted, and on the 21st of February, 1818. 
the branch was organized with five male and seven female 
members. Before their constitution as an independent 
church, twenty-eight had been baptised and added to the 
branch, the fruits of the revival. 

On the 20th of June, 1818, a council from the Baptist 
churches of AVhitestown, Westmoreland, Western and Vero- 
na, gave this body fellowship as a church in gospel order. It 
consisted of forty-eight members, twenty-two males and twen- 
ty-six females. In 181 9, they erected a small but convenient 
house for public worship. The church was prosperous and 
united for the first seventeen years after its formation. In 
1836, an unfortunate division occurred, from a difference in 
theological views. The division was mutual, the aggrieved 
members retiring and organizing the Old School Baptist 
church. Since then, this body has enjoyed a good degree of 
harmony and unanimity of sentiment. Since its organization 
437 members have been connected with this church, 2G1 by 
baptism and 176 by letter. It now numbers about 100 com- 
municants. For the first eight years and a half it had no pas- 
tor, but was supplied with preaching, a part of the time, by 
Elders Phileo, Douglass, and Hearsey. Elder Caleb Kead 
took the pastoral charge in the spring of 1826, and remained 



XXVIIl] WESTMORELAND. 743 

Steven years. He was succeeded in the spring of 1833, by 
Elder Amos P. Draper, who preached three years. In the 
fall of 1836, Elder John Ormsby took the charge and con- 
tinued until the spring of 1838. In the spring of 1838, El- 
der C Read resumed the pastorate, and continued two 
years. In the spring of 1840, Elder Denison Alcott assum- 
ed the charge, and continued for nine years. John M. Shot- 
well, a licentiate, preached from the spring of 1849 until 
the spring of 1850. Four members of this church have been 
licensed preachers, two of whom, James Bicknell and Amos 
P. Draper, were ordained. 

Old School Bajytist Church. — As mentioned in the histo- 
ry of the Second Baptist Church, a portion of that body, by 
mutual consent, retired, and formed this church. March 5th, 
1836. It numbered at that time about seventy members. 
Elder James Bicknell, who had been previously ordained, 
left with them, and became their pastor. In 1838, the 
church and society built a house for public worship, forty by 
fifty-six feet. It is finished in a neat, plain, yet substantial 
manner. Elder Bicknell still continues their pastor. The 
point in doctrine distinguishing them from the church they 
left is •' particular atonement," and it is still all that severs 
them from the great body of the Baptist denomination. 
This church has ever been flourishing, receiving considerable 
additions, still the removals to other parts have been such, 
that in numbers it is but little larger than when first formed, 
it has now between seventy and eighty members. Their 
liouse of worship is about one and a half miles north of the 
second church. These bodies have had considerable addi- 
tions this winter (1850 and 1851). 



744 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUxM'V. [CIIAF. 

EIOGRAPHV. 

James Dean, the first settler of Westmoreland, was born at 
Groton, Connecticut, in the month of August, 1748. Of hif^ 
early youth nothing is known, excepting that he was destined 
as a missionary to the Indians, and at the age of twelve 
years was sent to reside at Oquago on the Susquehanna, with 
au Indian missionary, named Mosely, who was then laboring 
with a branch of the Oneida tribe, located at that place. Hu 
soon became master of the Oneida tongue, and was adopted 
by a female native as her son. To this mother he ever man- 
ifested an ardent attachment. His acquisition of this lan- 
guage was of great use to him and his country in after life. 
Learning it when thus young, while the organs of speech 
were flexible, he was enabled to speak the language most 
flucntlj-. The Oneidas said he was the only white person 
whom they had ever known, who could speak their language 
so perfectly that they could not at once detect him, although 
he might be hid fi'om view, but him they could not detect. 
How long he resided in Oquago is unknown, but in those few 
years, under the instruction of Mr. Mosely, he fitted himself 
to enter college. He was a member of the first class which 
formed and graduated at Dartmouth. His freshman year iu 
that institution, was before the completion of a building for 
the use of the students, and the class used to study and re- 
cite in a i-ude shelter, formed by placing slabs against the 
trunk of a large prostrate pine. In this poor apology for a 
college dormitory, young Mr. Dean studied and slept the 
first summer he spent in his collegiate course. He graduated 
just previously to the commencement of the war of the Kev- 
olution. 

In 1774, the leading citizens of each colony were endeav- 
oring to ascertain the sentiments of all classesof people, re la- 



XXVIII.J WESTMORELAND. 745 

tive to the portending contest ; and the peculiar fitness and 
qualifications of Mr. Dean, recommended him to the conti- 
nental Congress, then just assembled, as a suitable person to 
ascertain those of the Indians in New York and Canada, and 
the part they would probably take in the event of a war with 
the mother country. In order to disguise the object of his 
mission, it was arranged that he should assume the character 
of an Indian trader, and he was accordingly furnished with 
such goods as were then carried into the Indian country for 
the purposes of trade. He was also for that purpose faraish- 
ed with letters, invoices and other papers from a well known 
house ia Boston, then engaged in the Indian trade. Thus 
fitted out, he commenced his expedition to the six nations, 
and their branches, and the tribes connected with them, living 
in Canada. In the course of his travels in Lower Canada, ho 
was ari'ested by the British authorities as a spy, and taken to 
Quebec, where he underwent a most rigid examination. His 
self possession was equal to the crisis, and, aided by his pa- 
pers, he was enabled perfectly to quiet their suspicions, and 
was dismissed, they having been successfully overreached by 
but an inexperienced hand in the art of honorable dissimula- 
tion. It was during this expedition, tha tthe subject of this 
notice first visited Oneida Castle, and for the first time trod 
upon the soil of Oneida County. 

At the commencement of the war of the Kevolution, Mr. 
Dean was retained in the public service, with the rank of ma- 
jor in the stafi", as agent for Indian affairs and interpreter. 
The selection was most fortunate. He was stationed during 
most of the war at Fort Stanwix and Oneida Castle. His 
position was often a most trying one, although entirely de- 
void of opportunities for distinguishing himself or gathering 
laurels on the battle-field. This to the soldier is a cheerless 
position ; but as a true patriot, he remained at his post during 



746 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the whole contest, rendering the most important services to 
his country. The New York Historical Society have ob- 
tained all of General Gates' papers, public and private, and 
among them are a number of manuscript letters from Mr. 
Dean, written during the eventful campaign of 1777, at Sar- 
atoga. 

To give a specimen of his duties the following is related. 
Nicholas Sharp, long known to the early settlers of the coun- 
ty as " Saucy Nick," and as the worst Indian in the Oneida 
tribe, was during the whole contest true to the cause of the 
colonies, and one of the most active and reliable scouts in his 
nation. Shortly before the burning of Cherry Valley by the 
Indians and Tories, November 11th, 1778, Mr. Dean dis- 
patched Nicholas to Canada, to learn what he could of the 
designs and plans against the frontiers. By means now un- 
known, the scout ferreted out the whole plan of the expedi- 
tion against that devoted settlement, from the Canadian In- 
dians. The day fixed for the attack was so near, that it was 
necessary to make all haste to give the warning in time to 
save the place, and such was the celerity of Nicholas in re- 
turning to Oneida, that upon his arrival he was entirely ex- 
hausted, and for two or three days unable to walk. As no 
time was to be lost, Mr. Dean immediately dispatched, Scan- 
andoa to give the timely warning to Col. Alden, the com- 
mandant at Cherry Valley. That officer unfitted by intem- 
perance for his responsible position, heeded not the warning, 
believing that the severity of the season precluded the possi- 
bility of an attack. The inhabitants were therefore suffered 
to remain in their houses, and the gate of the fort left unfas- 
tened. On the very night named by Nicholas, Cherry Val- 
ley was burned, and the few of its inhabitants who escaped 
the tomahawk and scalping knife were carried into captivity. 
Col. Alden was among the slain. 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 747 

The great body of the Oneida tribe were induced by Mr. 
Dean, aided by Mr. Kirkland, to remain neutral, at least as 
i'ar as appearances were concerned. In feeling, with a few 
exceptions, they were with the Americans, and some of them 
did good service at Oriskany, Stone Arabia and some other 
places. 

The siege of Fort Stanwix, and the battle of Oriskany, oc-. 
curred during an absence of Mr. Dean down the Mohawk. 
On his return with the command of General Arnold, intend- 
ed for the relief of the garrison, he passed the battle ground 
still strewn with the corpses of those who had fallen in the 
conflict, unburied where they fell. Such was the terrible ef- 
fluvia, the wind being in the west, that when he arrived at 
the eastern border of the field he held his handkerchief to bis 
face, and put his horse to its utmost speed to gain the wind- 
ward side of that dreadful field, " where friend and foeman 
undistinguished lay festering." 

At the close of the war, Mr. Dean was present at a feast 
given the Stockbridge Indians in Massachusetts. General 
Washington gave orders to one of the contractors at West 
Point to furnish the provisions. An ox weighing 1,100 
pounds was barbacued for the occasion. The principal men 
in the vicinity were present. Mr. Dean and the Rev. Mr. 
Sergeant (missionary to the Stockbridge Indians, in this 
county) presided at the table. After the feast, the Indians 
performed the ceremony of burying the hatchet, as a token 
that war was past, also some other of their national ceremo- 
nies, for the gratification of their guests. 

3rr. Dean, ever after the war enjoyed the confidence of 
the Oneida tribe. On the 30th of December, 1783, he sent 
letters, and an address from them, to the board of the mission- 
ary society in Scotland, asking that Mr. Kirkland should be 
continued as a missionary. 



748 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CUAP. 

Ill 1785, lie was at Oneida, and received an address from 
the celebrated Braut, which he forwarded to Congress, re- 
questing among other things, that Col. James Monroe, Major 
Peter Schuyler and Mr. James Dean, would be present at a 
council and conference with the Shawnees and Cherokees, to 
be held at Buffalo Creek. 

For his services, the Oneidas gave Mr. Dean a tract of land 
two miles square, the title to be confirmed and ratified by the 
state. This was probably in 1783. He chose for its location 
a tract upon the north side of Wood Creek, in the present 
town of Vienna. In the spring of 1784, he left Connecticut 
with Jedediah Phelps and Andrew Blanchard, in company, 
to commence the settlement of his land. The day of starting 
is not known, but they left Schenectady the 3d of May, and 
arrived at Wood Creek the 13th. Without knowing it, they 
undoubtedly passed Judge White, while he and his sons were 
engaged, upon the Shoemaker farm, in planting their crop of 
corn. After Mr. Dean and his party arrived at Wood Creek, 
they built a log house and a shop for Mr. Phelps, who was a 
brass-founder and silver-smith, and intended to work for the 
Indians. During the S;uminer they made a small clearing, 
and although now covered with a second growth of timber, it 
still retains its name of "Dean's place." In the spring of 
1785, the place became inundated to such an extent, that for 
three weeks they were obliged to live in the garret of their log 
cabin, and for the purpose of cooking their meals, they de- 
scended from their loft into a canoe by a ladder, and then 
rowing to the shop, used the forge as their only fire-place 
above high water mark. On the subsiding of the water, the 
party were fully satisfied that the selection was an unfortu- 
nate one, and unfit for the comraeneement of a settlement. 
Mr. Dean stating this to the Indians, they agreed he might 
change the location to any point upon the west side of the 



XXVm.J WESTMORELAND. 749 

" line of property " between Brotliertown upon the Oriskany 
and Wood Creek. He selected his land so as to include the 
falls of the creek, since known as Dean's Creek. To render 
such location certain, the survey, as appears from the descrip- 
tion of his patent, of the east line of the patent commenced in 
the creek, and thence run north and south, to the north and 
south bounds of the tract. He located his patent in the fall 
of 1785, and, as before stated, settled upon it in February, 
1786. At this time he was unmarried, but in the fall of that 
year ho visited Connecticut, and was married to Miss Lydia 
Oamp on the II th of October. 

Mr. Dean's energies were now directed to clearing a farm, 
inducing settlers to remove to his patent, and in building 
mills for their accommodation. Success crowned his efforts, 
and it was but a few years before every lot offered for sale 
was " taken up " by an actual settler. 

The incidents contained in the three followi'Og chapters oc- 
curred at about this period, and they are here transcribed as 
^hey were written out by the author and published a few 
years since in most of the papers of the county. 



AN INCIDENT IN THE EARLY niSTORY OF ONEIDA COrNTY. 

Fifty years since the settlement of Dean's Patent, in the 
town of Westmoreland (then a significant name), was the 
" far west." Where is it now ? Almost at the foot of the 
Rocky Mountains! Wonderful people these Yankees — these 
Americans ! What in the old world took almost as many 
centuries, has been accomplished in this brief space of time. 

As every thing that tends to preserve from oblivion any 



750 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTi'. [CHAP 

traits of the savage character,as exhibited in the noble Oneidas, 
then the lords of this and the adjoining county of Madison. 
or the "hair-breadth escapes" of our first settlers, will be 
read with interest by the present, if not the rising generation, 
the writer has attempted to preserve one of those thrilling in- 
cidents with which those times were replete. '• Truth is 
strange, stranger than fiction.'' The facts set forth in the fol- 
lowing incident can be vouched for, by a few living in this 
vicinity. 

The Hon. James Dean was the pioneer settler of Oneida 
County: he was the first Yankee who had the hardihood to 
commence a settlement west of the German Flats, on the Mo- 
hawk. While but a lad nine years old, he was sent by his 
father to reside with a branch of the Oneida tribe of Indians, 
then living at Oquago, on the Susquehanna. He soon 
learned their language, and became a favorite with the Indians. 
He was adopted as a son by a squaw, in the place of one she 
had lost in battle, and to this woman he ever afterwards gave 
the endearing appellation of mother. After a few years' resi- 
dence, his father took him home and finished his education at 
Dartmouth College. 

About this time, the Oneidas broke up tht^r settlement on 
the Susquehanna, and joined the main body of their tribe 
at Oneida Castle. The war of the Revolution now broke out, 
carrying with it many of the horrors of a civil war, added to 
the cruelty of the tomahawk and scalping knife of the savage, 
so freely used by the British on our defenceless frontier. 
Judge Dean was stationed, during the whole of the war, at the 
Oneida Castle and Fort Stanwux (now Rome), with the rank 
of Major, on account of the influence he possessed over the 
Indians. He Bucceeded in keeping most of the Oneidas 
from any acts of hostility. He was very useful in ferreting 
out aod giving useful information of many plots of the lesa 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 75 1 

friendly tribes. After the peace of 1783, the Oneidas gave 
him his patent of two miles square, which was subsequently 
ratified by the State. In 1784, he removed from Connecticut 
and commenced the settlement of Oneida County. 

Two or three years after this, a party of the Oneidas went 
to the Cahoes. on their annual fishing expedition. The fishery 
belonged to the Mohawk tribe, yet they gave their neighbors 
the privilege once in each year of repairing thither to catch 
what fish they chose — this privilege having been handed down 
from time immemorial. The party had the means of procu- 
ring the fire-water of the white man, of which they made too 
free a use. On their return, some where in the valley of the 
Mohawk, they took possession of a blacksmith's shop, in the 
absence of the owner, using the fire for the purpose of cook- 
ing. On the return of the owner, he sat about dispossessing 
his noisy tenants. They objected and refused. A scuffle 
and figiit ensued, in which our son of Vulcan plied his ham- 
mer so freely as to cause the death of one of the party. 
They then took their dead comrade,brought him to the Oneida, 
and he was buried in the same ground where the grass had 
for ages grown on the graves of his fathers. A council fire 
was now lit up, the well-known conch sounded, and the tribe 
were soon collected in council. By an ancient law of the 
Oneidas, if any of their tribe were murdered by a member of 
another tribe with whom they were at peace, the first person 
of the tribe passing through their territory was to be execu- 
ted, to appease the relatives in the tribe of the murdered. 

The council, after a full consultation and mature delibera- 
tion, ki which their order and decorum should ever put to 
blush some of the late legislative proceedings of the less civ- 
ilixed (in this respect) white man, it was decreed that said 
law should be enforced on the whites. 

Ignorant of the murder, or doings of the council, Judge 



752 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF. 

Dean, having business to transact in the vicinity, was the first 
white who passed through Oneida Village. Again the smoke 
arose over the council cabin, and the tribe again assembled 
in council. After a lengthy sitting, in which the friendship 
of Judge Dean to the Indian, and hie having been adopted 
by their tribe, had been duly considered, and after the coun- 
cil had expressed their regret that he should be so unfortu- 
nate as to bring himself within their law, it was resolved that 
their ancient law must be enforced. In pursuance of their 
resolution, Powlis, one of their bravest warriors, and long 
known as the personal friend of the Judge, was selected as 
the executioner, together with the requisite assistants, and 
was instructed to do his duty faithfully. Soon after this last 
council, some friendly Indian conveyed to Judge Dean the 
circumstances which I have detailed, and he without men- 
tioning it to his wife, or any friend, proceeded to settle and 
arrange his business, under a strong conviction, that, at best, 
the tenure of his life was very precarious. Fleeing from the 
executioner of the law, is an act of meanness and cowardice, 
of which in the opinion of the savage, none but the pale faces 
or women would ever be guilty. 

Judge Dean was therefore determined to convince them he 
could meet death like a Christian, which religion he profess- 
ed. But a few days intervened, when, after he had retired 
to rest with his wife and infant child, he was startled from 
his slumber by the well known death whoop, near his dwel- 
ling. He then briefly stated the case to his dearly beloved 
wife, exhorting her to fortitude, in the trying scene he was 
confident would soon commence. The space was brief, ere 
Iiis accustomed e^ar caught the soft and stealthy step of the 
Indian, at the door ; the door opened, and Powlis, with his 
tomahawk, as his badge of ofiice, entered, followed by three or 
four assistants. The Judge met them on the threshold, and 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 753 

calmly, without the relaxation of a muscle, invited them into 
another room. 

He then commenced in the Indian tongue, and told them 
he had been informed, and well knew their errand. He told 
them it was wrong to put him to death for the crime of an- 
other, a person he did not know, and over whom he had no 
control ; that it would displease the Great Spirit for them to 
visit on the innocent, the punishment due the guilty, that he 
had ever been the friend of the red man. He then made a 
pause. Powlis and his assistants went apart and held a con- 
sultation. Powlis then informed him, as the result of their 
deliberations, that he must die, that his face was pale, that 
the murder was committed by a pale face, they belonged to 
one nation, and of course came within their law. Judge Dean 
told them their words were all wrong, that the murderer was 
a Dutchman, and did not speak the same language he did, 
that he could not understand their talk on the Mohawk, that 
he, Powlis, might as well be called a Seneca or Tuscarora, be- 
cause his face was red, that they must not make him respon- 
sible for the doings of all bad white men. Furthermore, he 
told them he belonged to the Oneida tribe, that his adoption 
had been sanctioned at the council of their chiefs and braves, 
and of course he could not be responsible, nor come within 
the rule. Another consultation was then held by the Indi- 
ans, when Powlis informed the Judge that his arguments had 
all been thought of, and considered by their council, and his 
words were like the bark of the beech tree, very smooth, yet 
they did not heal their wounded nation, the blood stain was 
on their tribe, and it must be washed away — die he must. 

As a last resort, the Judge appealed to Powlis on account 
of the friendship that had long subsisted between them, that 
they had warmed at the same fire and eat of the same 
venison, and would he now raise bis hand to take his life ? 

48 



754 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAF. 

Powlis here interrupted him, and said that -when he thought 
of his friendship, his heart -was soft, it vas like a child's. 
-But shall it ever be Said of Powlis, that he will not do 
Lis duty to his tribe, because it is his friend that stands 
in the way. No brave will enter the door of Powlis, if he 
does not do his duty, but will point to his dwelling and 
say, that is the wigwam of a woman, and as he spake his 
black basilisk eyes began to light up with excitement ; 
already had the tomahawk began to raise for the perform- 
ance of its work ; already had the Judge reckoned his 
course on earth as run, and his mind bade farewell to all he 
held dear on earth — when the quick and almost noiseless 
tread of the moccasin caught his ear, the door opened and in 
rushed his adopted mother, with a friend, and stood between 
him and Powlis. After observing the Judge for a moment, 
she commenced — " my son, I am in time, I am not too late, 
the tomahawk is not yet red with your blood." She then turned 
to Powlis, and after eyeing him closely, if possible to scan his 
feelings, she again commenced, and said that, " soon after he 
and his assistants had left the Oneida, she got information of 
the doings of the council, and of their departure to execute 
its decree, that she immediately summoned her friend and 
followed with the swiftness of the deer, that she had come to 
claim her son, that she had adopted him to fill the place of 
her young brave who died in battle, that his adoption had 
been sanctioned by the council, that the law would not take 
a son from her for the crime of a white." She was calm, she 
quailed not at the fierce look of Powlis, when he told her to 
be away, to be gone, that she was a squaw, that the decisions of 
the council should not be defeated by a woman, that she had 
better be at home pounding corn, and waiting upon her hus- 
band, and again began to brandish his tomahawk as if impa- 
tient of this new delay in tlie sacrifice of their victim. The 



XSVIII.] WEST^ftORELAND. 756 

mother and her friend now each produced a knife, bared their 
bosoms, when the mother said, " if jou are determined to take 
his life, you can only do it by passing over our dead bodies; 
if the floor is to be stained with his blood, it'shall be mingled 
with ours; his blood shall not run alone." When Powlis 
saw the determined and courageous bearing of the women, he 
beckoned his companions one side, and thcr result was to de- 
fer proceedings for that night, and refer the matter again to 
the tribe in council, when the mother should have an oppor- 
tunity to be heard, and as the subject was never again heard 
from, it was presumed the mother's entreaties prevailed. 
While the name of Pocahontas has been,. handed down to pos- 
terity, and is familiar to every school boy, for her noble 
daring, in preserving the life of Capt. Smith, the name of this 
heroic mother, who saved a life equally valuable and dear, 
has been lost. The part. which Powlis. took in the transac- 
tion never caused any interruption to the friendship alluded 
to. for during the remainder of his life, he made the Judge 
an annual visit, enjoying without restraint his hospitality for 
three or four days at a time. 

CHAPTER II. 

I II this chapter I shall notice an incident in which Judgg 
Dean's life was jeopardized, not by a tribunal acting under 
the Indian code of laws, yet from the violence of individual 
resentment none the less dangerous. 

As late as 1792 or 1793, an Indian who had by some 
means the Dutch name of Han Yost appended to him. and 
who married a grand-dawghter of the celebrated Scanandoa, 
was discovered about noon, by Judge Dean and family in the 
highway, some fifty or sixty rods from his house, coming 
towards it on the run,, evidently intoxicated, and giving the 



756 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

death whoop, that dismal yell which has caused many a bold 
heart to quail. When arrived at the house, he immediately 
entered, passed through the kitchen, to the sitting room, 
where Judge Dean was, and demanded money which he pre- 
tended the Judge owed him. Judge Dean told him he owed 
him nothing, that he had ever paid his red brothers every 
cent that was their due, that he had never speculated out of 
the Indians. Han Yost replied, that if the Judge would not 
let him have the money he would take his life, and drew his 
knife, that constant companion of the savage, and made 
towards him. Mrs. Dean, who, though in feeble health, was a 
woman possessed of uncommon strength and fortitude of 
mind, now caught up one of those long heavy iron handled 
shovels, that graced the corners of the broad backed fireplaces 
of our early settlers, and placed herself directly between her 
husband and Han Yost, and was evidently about to strike a 
blow which would probably have cleft the skull of the savage 
considering the weight of the weapon, and the cause which 
nerved the arm that wielded it. Judge Dean, quick as 
thought, foreseeing and wishing to avoid future consequences, 
said," my dear, don't strike, don't strike," which stayed the 
arm that held the weapon. She, however, kept her post between 
her husband and his foe, kept the Indian at bay, while the 
Judge coolly drew his handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped 
it around his hand, then quickly darted past his wife, and 
succeeded in securing the knife. Judge Dean was now on 
equal ground, and as his opponent was too far intoxicated to 
make a very stout resistance, he shortly had him confined in 
the cellar, where the fumes of the liquor soon caused him to 
fall into a sound sleep, from which he did not awake until the 
next morning. At that time he humbly begged to be re- 
leased, and promised to behave better in future. After hav- 
ing regained his liberty, he very humbly asked the Judge's 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 757 

pardon, and said " he never could be thankful enough that 
they had prevented his taking the life of his very good friend." 



CHAPTER in. 

It had been a cold rainy day, in the month of November, 
the year not now known, neither is it necessary for our pur- 
pose, any further than to say it was soon after the white man 
had commenced his depredations upon the dense forests of 
Oneida. I say it had been a cold rainy day, and when the 
evening sat in, large flakes of snow were seen intermingled 
with the rain, such a storm as would admonish the most har- 
dy of the necessity of seeking an early shelter. Judge Dean, 
before retiring to rest, looked out on his little " improve- 
ments," and saw that the snow was in a measure gaining the 
ascendancy, for the blackened stumps and logs stood out in 
bold relief on the white ground work. 

Long after the Judge had retired to rest, he heard a noise 
at his door, as if same person was trying to gain admittance. 
He continued to listen, and at length became satisfied that - 
it was some benighted son of the forest, partially intoxicated, 
and as the door was securely bolted, he made up his mind he 
would not be troubled or disturbed at that late hour, excu- 
sing himself, that the Indian might have obtained his lodg- 
ings where he did his liquor. After hearing the fruitless ef- 
forts continued some fifteen or twenty minutes, the Indian ev- 
idently gave up his efforts as if discouraged. The Judge 
then heard in the low, soft, guttural and plaintive sounds of 
the Oneida tongue, an appeal which thrilled through his bo-s 
som, causing the blood to course swiftly and warmly to bis 
heart. 

Literally translated, it was — '• Alas ! must I then perish, 
at the door of my friend ! " 



758 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [cHAP 

What an appeal ! to use an expression of Burns on a dif- 
ferent occasion ; " compared to this" the studied and finished 
periods of pathos, " are tame." 

It is hardly necessary to add that nothing further was re- 
quisite to open the Judge's heart, his door, his fire, and his 
pantry. 



Judge Dean received repeated evidence of the confidence 
of his fellow citizens. For a number of years he was one of 
the Judges of the Oneida Common Pleas, and he was twice 
honored with a seat in the House of Assembly. As a magis- 
trate, he was upright and impartial. In politics he was ar- 
dently attached to the federal school. 

He was twice married. By his first marriage (which has 
been mentioned) he had six children, four sons and two 
daughters. His eldest son, James, was educated at Union 
College, and chose the profession of law, which he practiced 
a number of years. He was elected to the Assembly, and 
took his seat in that body in 1820. He was afterwards ap- 
pointed a Judge of the County Courts, and more subsequent- 
ly was elected County Clerk, which office he held for ouo 
term. He resided many years in Utica, where he died May 
22, 1841, aged fifty-three years. Luke C. the second son of 
the Judge, is a farmer, and x-esides in the old family mansion. 
John, the third son, was also a farmer. He died in July, 
1849, aged fifty-seven. Electa, the oldest daughter, is the 
wife of Hon. Joshua A. Spencer, of Utica. Mary, the j'oun- 
gest daughter, is the relict of the late Augustus G. Morrison, 
and resides in the vicinity of her father's former residence 
The author believes he is but rendering a just tribute to de- 
parted worth in speaking of the two deceased sons, James 
and John. They were his earliest schoo^mates, and during. 



XXVIir.] WESTMORELAND. 759 

their lives considered as among his choicest friends. Honest 
and without guile, they were ornaments to society. James 
possessed of all that fortune could bestow, was ever affable 
and kind. John, in the latter part of his life, had the misfor- 
tune to have his usefulness impaired to some extent, by in- 
juries resulting from being kicked by a horse, yet, through 
life, he was the iloble, benevolent friend and benefactor of his 
race. 

Judge Dean was qmte an extensive farmer. The evening 
of his life was spent in that pleasant quiet, rendered thrice 
welcome from the eventful vicissitudes of its ante-meridian 
portion. 

His first wife died July 3d, 1814. He was again married 
to Cynthia Phelps, (widow of Joseph Phelps), who survived 
him a number of years. 

He died September 10th, 1823, in the seventy-sixth year 
of his age. 

Judge Dean was a good scholar, and as a writer his style 
was beautiful and chaste. After the close of the Revolution- 
ary contest, he wrote a lengthy essay upon the Indian myth- 
ology. The manuscript was lent to President Dwight, but 
never returned. This work, upon which much time and labor 
had been expended, and which no doubt contained much that 
would bo valuable, is now probably lost to the world. He 
was a firm and professed believer in the Christian religion. 



The following obituary of Capt. John Vaughan., will be 
read with interest. It is believed, that no other family in 
this county, and, probably very few in this country, can show 
such a number of descendants from the same father and 
mother. The obituary was at the time cut by one of his 
neighbors from the Utica Patriot, but does not contain the 
Biontli or year of his decease, and the author has been unable 



y^O ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTr. ("CHAP. 

to ascertain the time, nearer than that it was between Janu- 
ary and July, 1820, and probably in May. His wife survived 
him. 

" Died. — On the 9th inst., in the town of Westmoreland, Captain 
John' Yaughan, aged eighty-seven years and eight months. He was 
born in the year 1733. At the age of twenty he married Ann Beebe, 
and lived with the wife of his youth sixty-seven years. By her he has 
the following descendants, most of whom, it is believed, are now liv- 
ing, viz : 

Children 14 

Grand Children, ----- 13i 
Great-grand Children, - - - - 28G 
Great great grand Children, - - - 8 

Total, 382 

Providence had bestowed on him a firm constitution — great bodily 
activity — a commanding stature, and strong powers of mind. At the 
age of twenty-two, he commanded as a captain, at the northward, in 
the old French war ; and in our revolution he was found fighting for 
the liberties of his country at Boston, New York and West Point. He 
was always a patriot. He died in the hope and in full faith of the 
gospel of our Redeemer." 

Isaac Jones was born March 6th, 1750, about thirty miles 
south of Boston, in Bristol County, Massachusetts. During 
most of the Revolution he was engaged in the transportation 
of military stores. Near the commencement of 1777, he 
changed his residence to New Marlborough, Berkshire Co., 
Mass. He still continued in the service of his country, 
until nearly, or quite to the close of the war. In 1787, hav- 
ing previously married, he removed to Clinton, and com- 
menced upon the farm owned for many years by Captain 
Aaron Kellogg, and now by his son, Hiram H. Kellogg. Ho 
remained there but a short time, and then removed to West- 
moreland. He was the first supervisor of this town. He 



XXVIII.] WESTMORKLAND. 7G I 

rendered himself conspicuous by his zealous advocacy of the 
democratic platform, when he had as coadjutors but two vo- 
ters in this town. He was a man of strong native powers of 
mind, and great independence of character. He died on the 
16th of October, 1808, in the town of Veraon, whither he 
had removed a few years previously. 

Joseph Jones, a brother of Isaac, was born at the same 
place, February 21, 1757, and removed to New Marlborough, 
about the same time. He came to Westmoreland in the 
spring of 1787, and resided for many years a few rods west 
of the Baptist meeting house in Lairdsville. He held the 
office of supervisor four years, that of a justice of the peace 
more than twenty years, and for a considerable period was post- 
master and town clerk. During the time he was a justice of 
the peace, he was the only acting magistrate in his section of 
the town, when the duties of the office were very considera- 
ble. Notwithstanding his early advantages had been so lim- 
ited, that he had the benefit of but two days' attendance at 
school, still by his unaided application, he well qualified him- 
self for the offices conferred upon him by his fellow citizens. 
He died in Yernon, March 3, 1835, in the seventy-ninth year 
of his ago. 

In copying the following obituary notice of his honored 
father, the author believes no apology is necessary. It was 
written by the younger Judge James Dean. 

" Died. — In Westmoreland, on the 19th of December, 1838, Captain 
Neiikmiah.Jone.s, a patriot of the Revolution, and one of the pioneers 
of central New York, aged seventy-eight years and six months. 

" The triumph of his country's arms having rendered his services in 

the 'tented field ' no longer necessary, the subject of this brief no- 

.tice, with the enterprise characteristic of the sons of New England, 



762 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. [CHAP. 

removed in January, 1787, with his family and a numerous circle of 
relatives, from the state ofMassachusetts, tothatpartof Whitestown, 
since called Westmoreland (then an almost unbroken forest), where 
he continued to reside from that time till his death. Being ofa stu- 
dious and contemplative turn of mind, he early acquired from read- 
ing and reflection, an ample fund of useful -knowledge, which com- 
bined with his native kindness of heart, and peculiarly devotional 
feelings, rendered his society and conversation highly interesting and 
instructive. The loss of hearing, however, and other bodily intirmi- 
ties, withdrew him some years since from the scenes of active life, 
and greatly abridged his sociaMntercourse ; but throug-h the favor of 
Providence his powers of mind remained unimpaired until near the 
close of life. 

" Having a happy talent of versification, he employed much of liis 
time during this interval in composing hymns and other devotional 
pieces. Indeed his pen was at all times a ready resource ; so that, 
though deprived in a great degree, 'by his deafness, of the pleasures 
of conversation, he never sunk into listlessness and gloom, but greet- 
ed every one who called on him both old and young, with a look 
beaming with happiness, and redolent of the purest love. In the 
vigor of manhood-he embraced the religion of Jksus, and exempliiied 
its spirit and its power, in his daily walk and conversation, having 
been for more than- thirty-^ five years past a consistent member of the 
Baptist church. Such haVing-been his life, his death was peace. The 
wife of his youth, and companion of his life, survives him, still to re- 
ceive the gratel'ul ministrations of filial piety and love, and thus, as 
well as by her society, to impart the holiest gratification to the cher- 
ished circle of which she has been so long a beloved inmate." 

"D.ED. — At Vernon, Oneida County, on the 11th of October, IS-i'J, 
Capt. STEPHi-rN Brigham, in the 96th year of his age. 

" The subject of this notice was born in Shrew,sbury, Worcester Co., 
Mass., May l-'jth, 1751. At the commencement of the war of the 
Revolution he left his home on the morning after the battle of Lex- 
ington, and joined the American army, near Boston, as a volunteer. 

" Hesoonafter enlisted as a private soldier forthetermof 8 months, 
and was in the memorable battle of Bunker Hill, on the 17th of June. 

'Some time after he returned from the army he removed to Cheshire 
Co., New Hampshire, where he remained until 1790. when he removed 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 763 

to what is now Oneida Co., N. Y., and settled in Westmoreland. In 
1812, he removed to Vernon, which has been the place of his resi- 
dence until the time of his death. 

" In early life, while living in New Hampshire, he, with his wife 
made a public profession of religion, in connection with the Congre- 
gational Church in Fitzwilliam. After his removal to Westmoreland, 
he, with his wife, were a part of the small number of thirteen who 
were organized into a church in that place. On his removal to Ver- 
non, his church relation was removed to the church at Vernon Cen- 
tre, where he continued a member until the time of his death. 

" He has uniformly sustained a good character for uprightness and 
integrity, and has in the last years of his life seemed ripening for a* 
better world and to bC waiting with' calmness and resignation for his 
great and last change. 

- Vernon, October 15, 1849." 

The lot of Captain Brigham was peculiarly a hard one. 
lie settled in Westmoreland early in 1790, and " took up " 
the farm upon which David Mansfield now res-ides. lie had 
cleared this farm and erected good buildings, and by his in- 
dustry and economy had arrived at easy and independent 
circumstances. A nephew of the Captain, named Abel Brig- 
ham, having commenced business as a merchant between 
Hampton and the furnace, was for a time successful but even- 
tually failed, and was confined in jail by his New York cred- 
itors. Captain Brigham and Walter Cone became his bail, 
that he might have the benefit of the jail liberties. As our 
laws then were, it was not necessary that the writ in an ac- 
tion for an escape should be served upon the sheriiF while 
the prisoner was off the limits to render the bail liable. The 
bail were sued for an escape, and on the trial a witness was 
introduced who swore positively that upon a certain evening, 
between eight and nine o'clock, he saw Abel Brigham ofi" tha 
jail liberties. By this testimony a judgment was obtained 
agiiiost the bail. The prisoner denied having been beyond 



764 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

the limits of the jail liberties, and subsequently the witness 
was indicted for perjury. Captain Brigham and Mr. Cone 
were in turn placed in close confinement, and such were the 
fears of renewed perjury, that for weeks no one was willing 
to bail them. They were both members of the Congrega- 
tional Church, and Mr. Eells, then the pastor, refused to ad- 
minister the ordinance of the supper while two of its mem- 
bers were in prison for the debt of another. The male mem- 
bers of the church then united in giving them the liberty of 
the jail limits. They were compelled, however, to remain 
for months in duress waiting for the trial of the indictment 
for perjury, which would test the validity of the judgment 
again.st them. The trial at length came on, and Abel Brig- 
ham testified positively that he was not at the place designa- 
ted upon the night in question, but remained within the liber- 
ties, and another witness testified that he was with him upon 
that evening, and as he believed until after nine o'clock, at 
another place, but did not recollect to have seen a time-piece. 
This did not, as was decided, amount to the testimony of two 
witnesses, necessary for a conviction, and the jury therefore 
rendered a verdict of not guilty. This was ruinous to Capt. 
Brigham, and he was eventually turned off his farm, and re- 
moved to Vernon in the fall of 1812. Mr. Cone was more 
fortunate. Possessed of larger means, and the war of 1812 
soon coming on, rendering money plenty and easily made, ho 
was enabled to keep his farm. The witness was suddenly 
possessed of more property than ever before, but nothing 
farther was elicited until he was upon his death-bed. Whea>. 
about to be called before that tribunal where perjury never 
avails the guilty, he fully confessed the perjury and the 
transaction to have been one of the blackest conspiracies. 
But it was too late, the act had been consummated, and no 
earthly tribunal could restore the lost farm to Capt. Brig- 



XXVIII.] WESTMOKELAND. 765 

ham. Such were his feelings, although frequently in West- 
moreland, that at the time of his death he had never once 
seen his old farm after the time he first left it. 

Joseph Blackmcr, sen., removed into the town in 1789, and 
died in February, 1795, over 70 years of age. He and his 
two sons, Ephraim and Joseph, were men of great energy and 
decision of character, which it would seem were inherited, and 
are illustrated by the following well-authenticated anecdote : 

The father of Joseph Blackmer, sen., resided at Kent, 
Connecticut. He had two sons, Paul, the eldest, and Joseph, 
the subject of this notice. These sons, after arriving at man- 
hood, though still in their minority, were promised by their 
father the permission to accompany him upon a short jour- 
ney to the " Nine Partners," a tract of country then known 
by that name in Dutchess County, in this State. In those 
staid days when the bump of locality was suffered to acquire 
some prominence, such a tour required quite an effort, and 
those who performed such a journey, were considered to have 
seen something of the world. The sages of those times never 
so much as dreamed of an iron horse which would convey 
500 passengers 200 miles between the hours of dinner and 
tea. Although Paul was the oldest, still in size Joseph was 
fully his equal, and they wore boots and shoes from the same 
last, and therefore had these necessary articles somewhat in 
common. Between them they had a pair of boots and a pair 
of shoes for the journey. In discussing the arrangements 
for the trip for several days before they sat out, Paul claim- 
ed the boots from seniority of age, while Joseph claimed at 
least an equal right to them, from equality in size. Without 
any particular acrimony, these claims were argued with 
considerable tenacity, and sometimes in the presence of their 
father, who, however, did not interfere, and upon the morn- 



765 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cilAP, 

irig fixed for their departure, the matter was no nearer an 
adjustment than when broached. The father now considered 
it time for him to assume the arbitrament of the matter 
" Sons," said he, " I have waited a number of days, and until 
now, for you to settle the question, but I see that at last I 
must decide it for you, you must each wear a boot and a 
shoe tqKjri.your journeij." The two young men were now 
very much in the predicament of the mother of the living 
child in the days of Solomon, and they each now begged the 
privilege of wearing the shpes. "No,'' says the father, '-I 
gave you a sufficient time -to settle the matter, you have fail- 
ed to do so, I have decided, there is no appeal," and the two 
young gentlemen had to travel outward bound and homeward 
bound to and from the " Nine Partners," v,'ith each of their 
nether extremities encased, as related in the old song, 

'■■ One foat a boot, 'twas he had oa, 
On t' other one a shoe, sir.'' 

and here the anecdote ends, each reader being left to form 
an opinion for himself, whether it is probable that the father 
had afterwards often to act as umpire between his sons. 

Ephraim Blackmer, who has been named as having moved 
into the town in January, 1787, was, for the few years he lived, 
a prominent citizen of the town and county. Early in the 
organization of Herkimer County, he was commissioned a 
justice of the peace and assistant justice. He was the eldest 
son of Joseph Blackmer, sen., and brother of the junior of the 
same name. He died of consumption. Feb. 27. 1 79G, aged 40 
years. 

Joseph Blackmer, jun. — The following obituary notice of 
this early resident of the town is taken from the Rochester 
American. 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 767 

4 

•' Died.— In Wheatland, Monroe Coimty, on tiic 2otli of March. 1848 
Joseph Blackmer, Esq., in the eighty-first year of his age. 

'• He was born in Kent, Litchfield County, Conn., October 2, 1767 ; 
iiis parents removed with him when about three years of age to New 
Marlborough, Berkshire Co., Mass., where he resided until he arrived 
at manhood; he was married in early life, and in Februarj-, 1787, re- 
moved to the town of Westmoreland, Oneida Couhty, which was then 
an almost unbroken wilderness. Here he and his associates endured 
hardships and privations in subduing the obstacles of a new country, 
which have seldom been experienced in later years. In 1808, he ro- 
liiovod to Wheatland, where he has resided the last forty years. His 
mind was well informed by reading, and he was a close observer. He 
ha-sdone much to sustain civil and religious institutions and educa- 
tion — ha.5 filled the office of just ice of the peace and a^^sistant judge, 
and various offices of trust, and may emphatically be denominated a 
public spirited man. He died respected and esteemed." 

Roderick Morrison was born in Hebron, Connecticut, De- 
cember SOtli, 1 763. In early life he was thrown almost entirely 
upon bis own resources, and his opportunities were extremely 
limited. lie enlisted into the continental army when six- 
teen years of age. He belonged to the Connecticut regiment, 
and its members, like true sons of New England, set up a 
reslmental school, where those in need could acquire the ru- 
diments of an education. In this school young Morrison be- 
came a good penman, and suflBciently versed in arithmetic to 
transact the ordinary business of life. Although among the 
youngest and latest enlistments into the continental army, he 
acquired that standing as a soldier, that he received a ser- 
geant's warrant some time previous to his discharge. He was 
honorably discharged, December 31st, 1783. He left Con- 
necticut and came to reside in Cambridge, Washington Co., 
in 1787, and was the next year married to Charlotte Bessee. 
In Cambridge, he commenced as a farmer. In 1797, having 
previously sold his farm, he removed to Westmoreland, where 



768 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP' 

he resided the remainder of liis life. Few men enjoyed to 
the same extent the confidence of their fellow citizens. He 
was supervisor of the town for fifteen years, a longer term 
than any other individual has held the office. He was for 
many years a justice of the peace. He held a seat in the 
htjuse of Assembly in 1816. As an agriculturalist, Esquire 
Morrison was eminently successful. He was a close obser- 
ver, and in the habit of making numerous notes and entries 
of the starting and progress of vegetation, etc., which became 
of great use to him in selecting the proper time for planting 
and sowing, as well as the different kinds of farm work. He 
died August I7th, 1843, in the eighty-first year of his age. 

Jared Chittenden, Esq , was a native of Connecticut, and 
was born May 2d, 1758. He enlisted for " during the war" 
in 1775, in a battalion of artillery, raised by that state, which 
also raised the same year a squadron of horse. The state of 
New York simultaneously raised a battalion of artillery and 
a squadron of horse. Early in the contest the two battal- 
ions of artillery were consolidated, and formed Lamb's regi- 
ment of artillery, and by an arrangement was considered as 
belonging to the New York State line. The two squadrons 
of horse were united and formed Sheldon's regiment of light 
horse. These two far-famed regiments, probably rendered 
as efficient service to their country, as any two regiments in 
the continental army. By this arrangement the subject ot 
this notice was transferred from the Connecticut to the New 
York line. For his efficiency and good qualifications he early 
received a sergeant's warrant. He served through that con- 
test, which emphatically tried not only their souls, but the 
physical powers of those engaged in it, and was honorably 
discharged at its close, having been almost eight years in the 
service. From the accounts given by his cotemporaries there 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 769 

were very few better soldiers in that army of heroes, or who 
possessed greater powers of endurance. He was at the siege 
of Yorktown and capture of Cornwallis. During the siege, 
the Americans pushed their advances with the greatest ardor, 
and soon more than 100 pieces of artillery and mortars of the 
heaviest calibre opened their fire upon the enemy's lines. 
Their thunder was incessant day and night. There was a 
thirteen-inch brass mortar proverbial among its fellows for 
the sharpness of its reports, and while the bombardment was 
thus crowded, the men assigned to it complained that the tour 
of duty of two hours in serving it, was too severe. Sergeant 
Chittenden at first but laughed at the men, but the com- . 
plaints becoming more frequent, he told them he would vol- 
unteer a tour, and accordingly did so, and applied the match, 
but upon taking his post, he wadded his ears with cotton. 
The bombardiers probably crowded their fire a little more 
rapidly, that their sergeant might have, at least, a fair speci- 
men of their trying duties. There was, however, on his part no 
shrinking, but for the last half hour the blood ran so copious- 
ly from his ears, that it dropped from his heels. In conclu- 
sion, after his severe experiment, he had the men attached to 
that mortar stand but half tours. He was almost entirely 
deaf for weeks, and during his life never regained the hear- 
ing of one of his ears. 

After peace had been declared, he returned to Connecticut, 
was married, and early in the settlement of Whitestown re- 
moved to within its present bounds, in its extreme south-west 
corner. After a few years' residence in that town, and some 
years previously to 1800, he removed to Westmoreland, where 
he resided the remainder of his days. A few years after this 
last removal, an unexpected " wind-fall " greeted him. Judge 
Dean, while in the Assembly, in looking over the" balloting 
book," found the name of Jared Chittenden, sergeant in 

49 



770 ANNALS OF ONEIDA eOUNIT. [cHAr 

Lamb's Artillery, as entitled to a land warrant, for 640 acres. 
as one of the New York line. This was immediately com- 
municated to Mr. Chittenden. It was unexpected, as he en- 
listed in the Connecticut line, and did not suppose that the 
transfer to the New York troops, would entitle him to land 
in the latter state. He at once went to work to find the lo- 
cation of his -'soldier's right," and soon found that it wa» 
near Homer Village, and already of considerable value 
This placed the recipient in easy circrnnstances for the re- 
mainder of his life. 

lie was supervisor of the town for one year, and served as 
a magistrate for a considerable length of time. His charac- 
teristics were strongly marked, and his native good sense and 
judgment of a high order. When an opinion was formed, it 
was rarely yielded. In all the transactions of life he was 
methodical and exact, and his integrity unimpeached. He 
was ardently attached to the politics of the federal party, and 
when that party disbanded upon the second election of DeWitt 
Clinton, he voted a ticket alone, claiming to be the last man 
left of hia party in the county. With many of his compatri- 
ots in the continental army, he formed an appetite for strong 
drink, but his principles and strength of mind enabled hin. 
to keep it under due control, until within a few years of the 
close of life. Then, in a few instances, he allowed himself to 
be overcome, and it was feared by his friends, that as his 
powers became impaired by age, he would give way to hi.s 
appetite. An excellent man and neighbor went to him in, 
the kindest spirit, and plainly warned him of his danger. 
This was received in candor, and upon a review of the past, 
he at once perceived his critical position, and to that friend, 
he then made a solemn promise to refrain, which was most 
religiously observed for the remainder of his life. He died 
April 2d, 1828, aged seventy-two years. 



XXVIII. j WESTMORELAND 771 

The following is from the pen of the author, and was pub- 
lished in the Utica Observer of December 31st, 1845. 



THE OLD SUGAR HOtTSE PRISON IN NEW YORK. 

In the Utica Observer oi the 3d inst., is a very interesting 
article containing an account of the sufferings, and various 
anecdotes of the inmates, of this worse than Bastile of the 
American Revolution. 

A venerable relic of the days that '• tried men's souls," 
Captain Phineas Bell, now in his eighty-fourth year, resides 
in my vicinity. Knowing that he had been a prisoner, and 
confined some months in the Sugar House, I took the paper 
to his residence and read the article to him. Could I trans- 
fer to paper the deep feeling manifested by him while hear- 
ing the article read, and with which he narrated the story of 
the sufferings of himself and fellow prisoners, their various at- 
tempts, stratagems and defeats, in their efforts to regain their 
liberty, or even the thrilling sensations his story created in 
my breast, I should perform more with my readers than I 
can anticipate. f 

Hs was taken prisoner by the British the 3d of April, 1779, 
and immediately confined in the Sugar House. He there re- 
mained in durance about eight months, when he was taken 
very ill, and carried to the hospital (which was the Friend's 
meeting house), where he remained until his whole term as 
prisoner amounted to ten months and twenty days, when he 
was exchanged. When first confined, there were but eight 
inmates in the prison, bat in autumn the number had in- 
creased to more than three hundred. During the whole 
time of his imprisonment, there was but a solitary successful 
attempt to escape, and that by a single individual. Another 
attempt was made by a very active young man by the name 



772 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

of Squires. He had observed that the rubbish had so accu- 
mulated in one corner of the yard that he could by getting 
upon it, scale the nine feet board fence by which it was sur- 
rounded. He prepared himself by putting on two suits of 
clothes, so as not to suffer from cold if he had to lie in the 
field over night. He watched his opportunit}' when the sen- 
tries were on the opposite side of the prison, when he suc- 
ceeded in clearing the fence. But as ill luck would have it. 
an old tory on the outside saw l\im leap from the fence, who 
immediately set up the hue and cry of "stop thief" The 
inhabitants in the vicinity not understanding the deception, 
turned out in the pursuit, and the poor fellow was soon re- 
captured. When brought back, the Hessian sergeant, who 
commanded the guard, was determined to take his life, and 
made several thrusts at him with his sword, but the strength 
and quantity of Squires' clothing, effectually resisted its blun- 
ted point, and preserved his life. 

After the cold weather of autumn had come on, another 
plan was contrived, by which a considerable number hoped 
eventually to ' get clear of their hated prison. The guard 
house stood so near, that a plank from one of the upper win- 
dows would reach its roof, from whence they could escape ti> 
the ground on the outside of the yard. One dark night, the 
four who were to be the pioneers in this projected escape suc- 
ceeded in thus getting outside the yard without alarming the 
sentries. After three days, almost famished with cold and 
hunger, they returned and gave themselves up. They said 
they had searched in vain for a boat to convey them to the 
main land, but had failed, as they were all secured by the 
British. They had not dared to call on any of the inhabi- 
tants, for fear of falling into the hands of the torics. They 
had even explored the banks of the Harlem River without 
any better success. 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 773 

The winter of 1779-SO, was the coldest known since the 
settlement of the United States. Even the mention of the 
•• hard winter " will yet cause a shudder to run through the 
nerves of the iron men of the Revolution. The prisoners 
had, by some means, learned that the rivers by which New 
York Island was surrounded, were so frozen that the heavi- 
est teams could pass in safety. Now they thought was their 
time, but how to get clear of the guard was the question. The 
scaling system had not proved successful, they therefore now 
determined to undermine. All the trenching tools possessed 
were a mason's trowel and a shoe hammer, and with these 
the work was commenced in earnest, and day after day it 
progressed. From the old gentleman's description, the man- 
ner of excavating was somewhat ludicrous. The head work- 
men loosened the earth and east it behind, as near to himself 
as he could ; the next on his knees with his face towards the 
first did the same, and so on, until the line reached from the 
extremity to the cellar. When thus paraded, they com- 
menced putting the earth back with their hands on each 
side, until it reached the cellar. As the mine increased in 
length more hands were added, so that the distance the dirt 
had to be moved, did not in the least retard their work. 
The digging was easy, the soil being light and sandy. No 
fears were entertained that the passage would become filled 
by its caving in, the surface being so firmly frozen. By 
their perseverance they had cleared out their trench fifty 
feet in length, and this they were confident reached outside 
the yard. They then commenced perforating the frozet sur- 
face, and succeeded until light began to show itself All now 
became highly elated, and only waited a favorable opportuni- 
ty to open the avenue, and again breathe the uncontamina- 
ted air of heaven. But how bitter the disappointment. The 
very day after the so near completion of their labors, and, as 



774 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CKAF. 

they had fondly anticipated, the completion of their odious 
confinement, they were visited by the officer of the guard, 
who discovered this new outlet to the prison, and made it se- 
cure against all future attempts in that way. The prisoners 
were entirely satisfied that treachery had been at work, and 
that some one of their own number was the traitor. Suspi- 
cion fell on an individual, but as the proof was exceedingly 
slight, the matter soon passed over. 

Their sufierings from cold were every day growing more 
intense. There were no fire places in the building, and only 
one box stove in one of the lai'ge rooms. Their cooking had 
to be done in the basement over fires kindled upon the ground. 
Their supply of fire wood was so stinted, that after cooking, 
there was barely enough left to warm up the stove once in 
twenty-four hours. The rest of the time they were entirely 
without fire. Grown frantic and desperate, they now re- 
solved upon a more daring and desperate movement to re- 
gain their freedom, or to die in the attempt. Their guard 
consisted of twelve men, two of whom were constantly on 
duty. Their plan was to take advantage of some dark night, 
while all but the two guards were asleep, when a sufficient 
number were to attack and overpower those two, and the 
main body of prisoners were to rush into the guard house, 
seize the arms and conquer as they best could their waking 
owners, and then scatter in all directions so as to elude pur- 
suit. Death, under any circumstances, they preferred to their 
present bondage. Upon the day preceding the very night 
in which their forlorn hope was to give the signal and com- 
mence the attack, they were astonished to find their guard 
increased to sixty men, and the sentries doubled. Thus were 
they again defeated by a Judas. Their rage could with dif- 
ficulty be restrained, but who the traitor was no one knew. 
Their suspicions as to the person before mentioned were 



XKVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 775 

etrengthened. They took him to the fifth story, and in- 
formed him that his hour was come, that this betrayal of his 
companions had been ascertained, and that they had decided 
to throw him headlong from one of the windows. The evi- 
dence against him however was so slight that the more mod- 
erate and cautious of the prisoners advised delay in the exe- 
cution of this threat until his guilt had been more satisfacto- 
rily established, and this advice was finally acceded to. The 
proof was soon forthcoming, but the '• bird had flown," for a 
few days afterwards he was taken from prison by a British 
officer, and set at liberty. 

Soon afterwards, Mr. B. was removed to the hospital as 
before stated. Here an angel of mercy in the form of woman 
appeared and administered to his every want. A good whig 
jnatron daily came to the hospital with a cup of tea or cof- 
fee for each prisoner. She also went her daily rounds among 
the good whigs then in the city to collect fresh provisions for 
the sufi'erers, and it seemed with success, for there was n® 
lack of good things for the sick in the hospital. After Mr. 
B. had partially regained his health, he was retained by the 
surgeon as an assistant, and did not again return to the 
prison until his exchange, which took place in February. 
"While he was narrating to the writer the acts of kindness of 
that " angel woman," and describing the joy she infused into 
all hearts when she went her daily rounds upon her errands 
of mercy, the big tears glistened in his age-bedimmed eyes, 
and trickled down his wrinkled cheeks. Whether she re- 
ceived any compensation in this world is not known, but we 
know great must be her reward in heaven. 

While in the Sugar House, the treatment of the prisoners 
by the difi'erent sergeants of the guard was various. Some 
showed all the hard-hearted ferocity of the hireling, unfeel- 
ing soldier, while pthers possessed the milk of human kind- 



776 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

iicss. The guard was principally furnished by the Hessian 
regiments. One sergeant, named Brown, by his humanity 
endeared himself to all the prisoners. He showed every in- 
dulgence in his power, and often, while he commanded the 
guard, he permitted them to go into the yard for the benefit 
of fresh air, where he frequently allowed them to walk for 
half an hour. But the fortune of war changed sides. Mr. 
Bell was at the taking of Cornwallis. When the British ar- 
my marched out of their lines to ground their arms, he saw 
many guardsmen of the Sugar House, and among the rest 
Sergeant Brown. Upon recognizing each other, the sergeant 
ran from the ranks and embracing the subject of this notice, 
kissed him, saying, in broken English, " I prisoner now, I 
treat American prisoners kind, hope they treat me good." All 
that Mr. B. could do in return for the kindness of the Hes- 
sian sergeant was to assure him of his best wishes. Mr. ]1 
soon marched back into the country, and never again saw the 
wai'm-hearted Hessian. 

It will be perceived by the dates, that Mr. Bell survived 
but a few months after he narrated the foregoing incidents of 
the Sugar House. 

The following inscription is from the monument erected to 
his memory in the cemetery near Lairdsville. 

"PHINEAS BELL, 
A Patriot of the Revolution, 
Died May 13tli, 1845, 
Aged 8Jr j'ears. 
He was one of the first to take up arm.s 
in defence of his country at the earlj- age 
of 15 years, and served faithfully to the 
close of the perilous contest, has since 
been the recipient of the bounty of a 
grateful people, lived long to enjoy 
it, and died full of honors and of years.'' 



XXVIII.] WESTMORELAND. 777 

John Townsend, Esq., settled in this town in 1790, and lo- 
cated on the flats formed by the " gulf brook " here entering 
the valley of the Oriskany from the west, and in the south- 
west part of the town. The " Townsend flats," the name ap- 
plied to that section, have ever been noted for their fertility 
and beautj^, and in productiveness they are unsurpassed in 
the county. Esquire Townsend was a man of great moral 
excellence, beneficence and purity of character. By industry 
and economy he secured a liberal competence for his decli- 
ning years. For his Revolutionary services he drew a pen- 
sion of which he considered himself but the almoner to bestow 
for the spiritual and temporal good of his fellow men. Past the 
meridian of life he made a profession of religion, which he 
adorned by a correct walk and deportment. He was liberal 
and charitable in his views towards the several religious de- 
nominations around him. He died in the 83d year of his 
age. full of years and ripe for a better world. 

The following obituary notice is of the second centenarian 

in the town. 

"Died. — At Westmoreland, on the 17tli of October, 1846, IIenky 
Francis Aaron Keckland, aged 100 years and 5 months. Mr. Keck- 
land was a native of Germany, came to tliis country as a soldier in the 
armyof Gen. Bm'goj'ne, was made prisoner at Saratoga, afterwards 
enlisted into the American service, continued a faithful soldier during 
the war, and, as he was proud to say, marched into New York with 
Gen. AVashiiigton, when the citj'' was evacuated by the British, and 
was honorably discharged." 



From its earliest settlement the inhabitants of "Westmore- 
land have shown a liberal spirit in the education of their chil- 



778 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

dren. In a number of instances, they did not wait until saw- 
nnlls were built, so that a framed school house could be erect- 
ed, but rude log houses with bark roofs were hastily thrown 
up, to accommodate their children while acquiring the rudi- 
ments of an education. As early as 1792, a school was 
taught in a log building which stood near the present bury- 
ing ground, a short distance west of Lairdsville. The teach- 
er was Calvin Butler, brother of the late Deacon Salmon 
Butler of Clinton. This is believed to have been the first 
school taught in the town. In 1793, a log school house was 
built in Lairdsville, and some time in 1794, a teacher was 
!iired for a year. lie was competent, and his pupils advanced 
rapidl}'', but after seven or eight months of his year had 
elapsed, it was discovered that he was intemperate, and that 
he was occasionally partially intoxicated in school hour.s. 
For several days, upon one occasion, he carried about one of 
his eyes all the hues of the rainbow, received in a drunken 
brawl at a neighboring public house. In the spring of 1795. 
a number of the patrons of the school believing that such 
examples to their children should be no longer tolerated, a 
meeting was notified to take the matter into consideration. 
The meeting was a protracted one, part of the district strong- 
ly advocating the continuance of the school, while the other 
part were equally tenacious for dismlsslMg a teacher whose 
walk before his pupils was so irregular. The arguments. 
pro and to/i, having been exhausted, it was found upon taking 
the vote upon the motion for dismissal, that there was a tie. 
The vote not being carrledtodismissthe teacher, the advocates 
for continuing the school moved an adjournment, which was 
carried and they dispersed to their homes. Not so with the 
opponents of the school. Some of tlie leading spirits passed 
round the word to their friends to remain after the adjourn- 
mejit. They did so, and after the teacher's friends had all 



XXVin.] WESTMORELAND. 779 

left and were out of sight, they carried out the books and 
stationery to a secure place, and then kindled a fire in the 
building, and did not retire until the destroying element had 
so far progressed as to prelude all possibility of its being 
quenched, thus most effectually dismissing the drunken 
school teacher. 



Villages. — Hampton is the most centrally located and 
is the largest village in the town. Here are the Congrega- 
tional and Methodist house's for public worship, the AVest- 
moreland post-office, two dry goods and a drug store, two 
taverns, an extensive carriage shop, three boot and shoo 
shops, two harness and saddlers' shops, a tailor, milliner, 
and a small tannery. Last year (18.50), Smith, Buell and 
Co., ei'ected and put into operation a furnace for the man- 
ufacture of malleable iron. It is doing a large business, 
ca.sting many of the articles formerly made of wrought 
iron, which is a great saving in labor and price to the 
consumer, in comparison to their manufacture by the black- 
smith. Hampton was formerly celebrated as the place 
where the democratic county conventions were held, and 
many a knotty political question has here been settled satis- 
factorily to the party, and a majority of the voters. No point 
in the county is as near tlie centre of the population as this ; 
but geographically Home has the advantage, and the facilities 
the rail road have afforded that place, have caused the an- 
cient council ground at Hampton to become neglected. 
Hampton is located in the easterly part of the town, and is 
on a gravelly plain of some seventy rods width, having 
'• Dean's Creek" on its south, and " Sucker Brook " on its 
north side. 



780 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [CHAP. 

Loicdl. — This is a business centre in the north-wcsterl}- 
l)art of tlie town, where the plank road from Home to Madi- 
son crosses the road from Hampton to Verona and New 
London. Here are the Lowell post-office, Methodist and 
Congregational houses for worship (the latter now obsolete). 
with carriage maker, blacksmith and shoe shops, a store and 
< avern. 

Heda Works. — Early in the present century, a blast fur- 
nace was erected and went into operation at this place. It 
was known as the "Westmoreland Furnace," and was carried 
on by a company, the partners of which changed several 
times. The ore, of which there were two beds within less 
than one mile, with a small proportion from the Verona beds, 
was used in the manufacture of iron, until the forests in the 
vicinity were almost extirpated for coal. The first building 
was of wood, which in a few years gave place to a substan- 
tial stone structure. After having been in operation about 
thirty years, the scarcity of coal caused the business to be 
closed for a few years. For the few years past the busines.s 
has been revived, the furnace having been converted into a 
cupola for using pig iron. The acting partners are A. P. and 
Bradford Seymour, sons of one of the partners of the former 
concern. The castings at the present time are of the lighter 
class, such as butts, all kinds of hinges and fastenings for 
doors and window blinds, gate hangings and fastenings, coffee 
mills, etc., etc. The business is e.\tensively carried on, the 
articles manufactured are of the first quality, and find a ready 
pale in both eastern and w^estern markets, and as far south 
as Philadelphia. There are a dry goods store and various 
mechanics, the most of whom are employed by the company. 
The whole establishment is conducted on pure temperance 



XXVm.] WESTMORELAND. 781 

principles. The Hecla post-office was established at this 
place in the spring of 1851. 

LairdsviUe. — Here is a post-office named in honor of the 
late Samuel Laird, the first settler at this place, and who for 
many years kept a public house. For some years, Laird's 
was the most noted tavern west of Albany. Mr. Laird, it is 
believed, was the first Yankee who ever opened an inn on the 
then great leading route west of the Hudson Eiver. A few 
years later '• Oaks' Stand " in the town of Phelps, in the 
'• Genesee Country," was probably equally well known. Quite 
early Isaac Jones opened a second public house at this place, 
and it is believed that either of these houses did more of the 
legitimate business of tavern keeping, to wit : " the accom- 
modation of travellers," than is done at the present time, in 
all the public houses between the Oneida Castle and Utica. 
The Erie Canal and the Syracuse and Utica Hail Road 
have so diverted the business, that, like many other of the 
.small places on the Seneca Turnpike, it has retrograded for 
the last twenty-five years, and landed property in the vicinity 
has materially decreased in value. 

A tavern stand and small farm one mile west of Lairds- 
viUe, which in 1808 sold for $2,700, and in 1815, for $4,250, 
were sold in 1850, for $2,150. 

At present, the Methodist house of worship is sustained, 
also a small store, tavern, and a few mechanics. 



782 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTS. [CHAP. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

WHITESTOWN. 

In this town, was commenced tlie first 'permanent settle- 
ment of the county, or in the state, west of the Dutch settle- 
ment in the valley of the Mohawk. Soon after the close of 
the Revolutionary contest, the attention of the " sons of the 
Pilgrims " in New England, was called towards western 
New York, as an excellent field for the display of Yankee en- 
terprise. As early as the French and Indian war of 1756, 
the colonial soldiers under Lord Amherst had penetrated 
through the wilderness, by the way of Otsego Lake and 
Oneida Castle to Oswego, or with another portion of the 
same army had ascended the Mohawk to Fort Schuyler (now 
Utica), thence through what are now parts of New Hartford, 
Kirkland. Westmoreland and Vernon, to join their comrades 
at Oneida. These soldiers, on their return, made a glowing 
report of the beauty and fertility of the wild lands through 
which they passed, and their accounts were fully corroborated 
by the Indian missionaries. But the eventful times prece- 
ding and during the Revolution, called the attention of 
all to the securing of that dearer, richer boon- — Liberty. 
During that contest, the soldiers of New England again 
visited central and western New York, cx)raposing iu 
part the garrison of Fort Stanwix in the campaign of 1777, 
and a brigade of Massachusetts troops under Gen. Larned, 
■was with Gen. Arnold when he raised the siege of that for- 



XXIX. 



WIIITESTOWN'. 78c 



tress. In 1787, when Gen. Sullivan admiuistered that 
thorough chastisement to the Indians. New England fur- 
nished at least a full moiety of his army. At the close 
of the war. the beauties of the valleys of the head water.-* 
of the Mohawk were remembered. Hugh White removed 
from Middletown, Connecticut, in May. 1784, and arrived 
in what is now Whitestown on the 5th of June. He 
came by water to Albany, crossed by land to Schenectadj', 
where he purchased a batteau, in which he made passage up 
the Mohawk lliver. to the mouth of the Sauquoit Creek. 
His four sons, a daughter and daughter in-law accompanied 
him. "When he left Middletown he sent one of his sons with 
two yokes of oxen by land to Albany, who arrived there about 
the same time as did his father. As the family proceeded up 
the Mohawk in the boat, their teams kept even pace by land, 
and when they arrived at Shoemaker^ s, a few miles below 
Utica, on the south side of the river, they found many of the 
farms in that vicinity unoccupied, and the charred remains 
of dwelling houses and out-buildings told a fearful tale of the 
ravages committed by the tories and savages. Judge White, 
looking to the means for the future subsistence of his house- 
hold, stopped at this place, tilled One of the vacated fields 
and planted it with corn. At the proper season, the father 
'and sons returned from their new home at the mouth of the 
Sauquoit, and hoed this field of corn, and in the fall they were 
repaid for their labor with a bountiful crop. It was harves- 
ted and brought up in their boat. ' 

Judge White was born February ISth, 1733, making him 
tifty-one years of age at the time of his removal. It was not, 
therefore, the ardor and restlessness of youth which induced 
him to emigrate, but that spirit of enterprise and perseverance 
which looked forward to the future prosperity of himself and 
family. The precise time at which he arrived at the place 



784 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

where the field of corn was planted, can not now be ascer- 
tained, but it was just before " pinkster " (Whitsunday), a 
moveable feast which comes six weeks after " paas " or "poss," 
i. e. Easter-day, which would bring his arrival there at about 
the 20 th of May. "Paas" and " pinkster " are days noted 
in the annals of the Dutch, and were observed with many pe- 
culiar customs and ceremonies. 

Judge White had five sons, Daniel C, Joseph. Hugh, An- 
sel, and Philo. Ansel is yet living on Long Island. He 
resided a great number of years upon tlie farm, yet occupied 
by his sons, about half a mile from Whitesboro Village, upon 
Jhe road to Middle Settlement. Philo, the youngest, died 
April 12, 1849, aged eighty-two years. He was about six- 
teen years of age at the time of his emigration to Whitesbo- 
ro, and up to the time of his death resided upon his farm, 
.still farther upon the road to Middle Settlement than that of 
Ansel. 

The Judge had also three daughters, Kachel, Aurelia and 
Polly. 

Immediately after the Revolution, Judge White became 
one of the purchasers of Sadaqueda Patent, jointly with 
Zephaniah Piatt, the father of the late Judge Jonas Piatt, 
Ezra L'Hommedieu, and Melancthon Smith. Dy an ar- 
rangement between the proprietors, it was agreed that 
they should meet on the land in the summer of 1784, 
and make a survey and partition. Upon the arrival of Judge 
White, at the mouth of the Sauquoit, a bark shanty was erect- 
ed for a temporary residence. During the summer the pat- 
ent was surveyed into four sections, and the particular sec- 
tion of each owner was decided by lot. The section drew by 
Judge White being all intervale, he purchased of Smith the lot 
drawn by him in its rear, which extended to the south line of 
the patent upon the hill. By this last purchase the Judge 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 785 

became the owner in all, of about fifteen hundred acres, com- 
prehending all the land on both sides of Sauquoit Creek, 
trom the corner formed by the road to the Oneida Factories, 
and the Utica road to the corner where the late Lewis Berry 
for many years resided in Whitesboro, and extending back 
•on the hills more than a mile from the village. 

After the Judge had obtained this division and purchase, 
he at once proceeded to locate a site for a dwelling. The 
place selected was upon the bank, which forms the eastern 
termination of the village green in Whitesboro, and about 
six rods southerly from the Utica road. The house erected 
was peculiar. He dug into the bank so that the lower story 
was under ground, and then the upper was built in true prim- 
itive log house style. The ridge pole for the support of the 
roof was upheld by forked trees, cut and set in the ground, 
and the roof was composed of slabs, split for that purpose 
from logs. This was the first house erected on the Indian 
and military road between old Fort Schuyler (Utica) to 
Fort Stanwix. The Judge and his family resided in their 
new domicil until a better one was erected, cutting and clear- 
ing away the forest, and making preparations for the ensu- 
ing season. About four acres were cleared, it being the lot 
on which the court house and jail, the dwellings of Jesse Ives, 
Alvan Bradley and the antiquated gambrel roofed house 
soon after erected by the Judge as his family mansion, now 
stand ; and extending back towards the canal. The manner 
in which this field was cleared showed that they were no very 
great adepts in clearing new land, for they drew all the logs 
and rolled them off the afore-mentioned bank, not making 
even one of those massive log heaps, to be burned, which -ex- 
perience teaches is the true way to rapidly fit a piece of 
heavily timbered forest for agricultural purposes. In Janu- 
ary succeeding, he returned to Connecticut and brought ou 

50 



786 ANNAL3 OF ONEIDA COUNTr. [cHAP. 

hia wife with the remainder of his family. " After a lapse 
of more than sixty years our yjeople can hardly appreciate 
the trials, perplexities and privations to which the pioneers 
of Oneida County were subjected. The inventions of the 
last half century, the locomotive and steam boat, have ren- 
dered emigration into the uninhabited wilderness, a mattei* 
comparatively of little hardship, and we now bid farewell to 
the friend bound with his family to the distant fields of the 
far west, and expecting to erect his cabin scores of miles be- 
yond the smoke of any neighbors' cottage, and perhaps thou- 
sands of miles from the home of his childhood, very much as 
we exchange salutation with our neighbor who is leaving his 
home on a visit for a week." 

The early settlement of the " Whitestown country "' as a 
large section of central New York was then termed in New 
England, was attended with hardships, trials and perplexi- 
ties, of which it is difficult for us now to form an adequate 
idea. For the first two years of Judge White's residence at 
Whitesboro, the nearest mill was situated at Palatine, a dis- 
tance of about forty miles. This distance, it must be borne 
in mind, or at least a considerable portion of it, was then 
traversed only by an Indian path, perfectly impassable by any 
wheeled carriage, and barely permitting ahorse to thread his 
way through it. And the early settlers of the county used 
often to speak of carrying bags of grain upon their backs to 
Palatine and the Crermau Flats, to be ground, and then re- 
turning with the flour in the same manner. In 17S8. the 
mill situated on the Sauquoit, upon the road from Whites- 
boro to TJtiea was erected. It was built by Judge White, 
the late Amos Wetmore and John Beardsley, and for many 
years was known as Wetmore's mill. This was the first mill 
which graced the immense water power of Oneida County. 

For the following history of this mill, the author is indebted 



aXix.] whitestown. 787 

to a case reported in Caine's Cases in Error (vol. 2, p. 
87), an abstract of the facts stated in which is here given. 
These facts appear at this time as very singular, and show a 
curious state of things, but they are given as found, without 
farther " note or comment." 

The ease shows that on the 13th of May, 1788, Hugh 
White, sen., and Amos Wetmore agreed to build a grist-mill 
on Wetmore's land, near the line between their farms, on the 
Sauquoit, of which White and Wetmore were to own each 
one-fourth, and John Beardsley, mill-wright and builder, to 
own one-half They had verbally agreed in 1787 to build the 
mill. The mill was erected in 1788. In the latter year they 
also erected a saw-mill near by, and each owned one-third. 
The water was taken from the Sauquoit to the mills, on Wet- 
more's land by a canal. In 1791, Beardsley sold his shares 
iu the mills to Wetmore, for S$ 600, and soon after White 
sold Wetmore his shares for S 187, the mills being greatly 
out of repair — but the latter received no deed from White, 
and nothing was said upon either sale respecting the water. 
Wetmore soon fully repaired the mills, and put a pair of 
.stones into the grist-mill, and a year or two afterwards the 
milla were burned down. Wetmore immediately rebuilt 
ihcra and enjoyed them peaceably 'till 1797, when Hugh 
White, sen., threatened to cut down the dam and deprive 
W^etmore of the use of the water, ' unless he (Wetmore), 
would become a Presbyterian, and join the congregation un- 
der the charge of the Ptev. Bethuel Dodd, and would alsa 
build a dam and turn one half of the water of the creek over 
a meadow contiguous to the Sauquoit, and adjoining to the 
dam erected for the use of the mills,' which meadow Hugh 
White, sen., had conveyed to his son Hugh White, jun., in 
1794. In September and October, 1797, the dam was cut 
through three times, permitting the water to escape. So 



788 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

unxious had been H. White, sen., in 1 788, to have the grist and 
saw-mills erected, that he offered Wetmore and Beardsley the 
water forever and a ' barrel of pork,' if they alone would 
build the mills and not trouble him with them. After being 
in law several years, the Court of Errors decided in 1805, 
that Wetmore was entitled to use the waters of the creek for 
the mills, although they were not particularly specified in the 
sale by White or Beardsley to him." 

Previously to the erection of this mill, the early settlers in 
very many instances had to resort to the samp mortar, the 
pattern of which they borrowed from the aborigines, to re- 
duce their corn to a proper consistency for the making of 
hominy. It may be well to describe the manufacture of this 
mortar. A white ash log about three feet in length and some 
fifteen inches in diameter was selected, and to render the ar- 
ticle mpre ornamental, one was selected, if possible, containing 
a circular bulge for the top of the mortar. To hollow it out 
with a proper taper required some little ingenuity and pa- 
tience, but every obstacle could be easily surmounted by Yan- 
kee perseverance. Coals of fire were placed on the upper 
end and with the aid of a hand bellows, of which there was at 
least one in every neighborhood, the coals were kept alive and 
burning. Water was applied if necessary to prevent inequat- 
ities or burning too far on one side. As the cavity increased 
in depth, the quantity of coals was decreased, so that a perfect 
tapir from top to bottom was acquired. Many and many ;i 
good meal of hominy were made from corn pulverized in sucli 
mortars by the first settlers of Oneida. The little remnant 
of the Oneida aborigines left, near the western line of the 
county, yet continue the use of such mortars, believing that 
meal manufactured in them makes a richer and better "hoTn- 
iny," than if ground in a mill. 

As low down the Mohawk as Palatine, the agriculture of 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 789 

the Dutch had in a great measure been suspended by the fre- 
quent incursions of the hostile Indians, and the more savage 
tories, and for several years the whole produce of the country 
was barely sufficient to meet the demand created by the emi- 
gration which immediately followed Judge White. The 
want of animal food was severely felt by the settlers. The 
war had exhausted nearly all the stock of cattle and sheep 
on the Mohawk, and the few that remained were preserved 
with great care for restocking the country, being too valuable 
to be killed for present use. During the summer of 1784, 
the stock of meats brought with them, furnished them with 
abundance, and in the succeeding winter the demand had 
been supplied by the game taken in the forest. Philo, the 
youngest son of Judge White, was particularly useful in the 
taking of game. To use his own expression, " he was the 
hunter and fisherman for the whole family." He was sixteen 
years of age when he arrived, a time of life when the gun and 
ti.shing rod are peculiarly attractive, and mauy were the 
strings of speckled trout he brought to the family, and his 
])rowess as a hunter was frequently rewarded with saddles of 
venison taken upon his father's domain, and as he told the 
author many a good fat buck had he shot upon the farm up- 
on which he afterwards lived. In the spring of 1785, the 
pigeons were so plenty in the woods, and they were so easily 
taken as to suggest the idea of preserving a stock of summer 
provi.?ions from them. With this view they took great num- 
bers, and separating the breasts from the remainder of the 
Ijodies, salted down one or two barrels of this singular species 
of salt meat. This answered as an apology for something 
better ; and those who ate it, declared that although not as 
palatable as some delicacies which might be named, it tasted 
nearly as well as the salt with which it was preserved, besides 
conveying the idea of " actual meat victuals " to boot. This 



790 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. [cHAP. 

is but one small specimen of the thousand inconveniences 
which the early settlers had to encottnter. But they were 
met and endured with a good nature, and a disposition to 
make the best of them, which divested them of half their 
force and weight. As the settlement of the country pro- 
gressed, these deprivations gradually disappeared, while the 
recollection of them, for many a year, furnished amusement ; 
and the themes for many a pleasant social meeting to those 
who had endured them. 

The settlement of Whitestown soon began to progress rap- 
idly. As a means for inducing his acquaintances in New 
England to emigrate, Judge White used to send to them, 
when opportunities offered, the largest and handsomest stalks 
of wheat, corn, oats, etc., also samples of his best potatoes 
and onions, as evidence of the productiveness of the soil. 
These so far excelled any thing they had been accustomed to 
see, that very soon many came to see the country, and in gen- 
eral were so well pleased that they located in the vicinity. 
In a few years, Whitesboro had become a flourishing village. 
Among the pioneers of Whitestown, the names of Amos Wet- 
more, Jonas Piatt, Greoi'ge Doolittle, Thomas R. Gold, Reu- 
ben Wilcox, Arthur Breese, Enoch Story, Elisur Mosely, Ca- 
leb Douglas, William Gr. Tracy, and Gerrit G. Lansing arc- 
conspicuous. 

The author has not been able to ascertain the precise years 
in which these several persons removed to the town. Amos 
Wetmore came in 1785 ; Thomas R. Gold in 1792; and 
Ozias Wilcox came the same season, but later than Mr. Gold. 
The author has been unable to obtain materials for as com- 
plete biographies of these individuals as he desired. 

Jonas Piatt. — Herkimer County was organized by an act 
passed February 17, 1791, and Mr. Piatt, "who had then 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 791 

lately established himself at Whitesboro, at that time in the 
bosom of the wild uncultivated western forests," was appoint- 
ed clerk of the new county, which office he held until the 
formation of Oneida County, when he was appointed clerk of 
the latter. In 1809, Mr. Piatt was elected by the federal- 
ists to the State Senate, from the old western district, which 
previously had been strongly republican. On the 5th of Jan- 
uary, 1810, he was nominated as the federal candidate for 
governor. The particular reasons for this nomination are 
thus given by Judge Hammond. [Political History N. IT, 
vol. i,p. 279.) '• He was a pioneer in the country west of 
Albany, for although Whitesboro, his place of residence, is 
now quite in the interior, and rather easterly of the centre of 
population, in 1790, or about that time, when Gen. Piatt es- 
tablished himself there, it was a frontier settlement. He 
bad, therefore, grown up and grown great with the great west. 
Probably the hope of obtaining a strong vote in the old wes- 
tern district, which until the last election has been consider- 
ed the strong-hold of republicanism, was one reason for the 
selection of a candidate residing in that district, and the 
unexpected success of Mr. Piatt, in his election as senator, 
was proof of his personal popularity and indicated him as 
the most suitable candidate residing in that quarter for the 
office of governor." D. D. Tompkins was, however, elected 
by a large majority. 

In the winter of 1814, Mr. Piatt was appointed to the of- 
fice of judge of the Supreme Court of this State, in place of 
Smith Thompson, raised to the office of chief justice upon 
the elevation of Judge Kent, to the chancellor.ship. His term 
in the Senate had but just expired. 

The following portrait of Judge Piatt at about this period 
is drawn by Judge Hammond. (Vol. 1, p. 347.) " Mr. 
Piatt, who. at this time, maybe regarded as the most influen- 



792 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

tial man in the federal party, was a lawyer, who had been in 
extensive practice, and though his talents were not brilliant, 
they were of a character highly respectable ; his morals were 
perfectly pure ; though he possessed a deep intense tone of 
feeling and a high sense of personal honor, he had acquired, 
apparently, an entire control over his passions ; his quiet and 
calm deportment indicated a contemplative and considerate 
mind not liable to be hurried into the adoption of ill-adjusted 
plans, or to determinations which might lead to actions in- 
discreet or ill-advised. His address was unobtrusive, modest 
and conciliatory. He had a high regard to courtesy and pro- 
priety, as well in respect to political conduct as in the private 
and social concerns of life." 

While in the Senate, during the stormy sessions of 1 8 1 0>. 
'11, '12 and '13, he was the most active and influential member 
of his party in that body. 

Judge Piatt retained his seat upon the bench until, with 
his colleagues, Judges Spencer, Van Ness and Woodworth. he 
was " constitutionalized out of office " by the constitution of 
1821. Upon the re-organization of the Supreme Court. 
3Icssrs. Spencer, Piatt and Woodworth were nomifaated as 
Judges by Gov. Yates, but the Senate, for the reasons that 
Messrs. Spencer and Piatt had opposed some of the more lib- 
eral features of the new Constitution, and were therefore ob- 
noxious to the republican party then strongly in the ascen- 
dant : and that there was a strong desii-e (or overruling poli- 
cy) that new men should be placed in most of the more 
prominent positions, rejected them, and John Savage and 
Jacob Sutherland were appointed in their place. 

Upon resuming his position in private life, Judge Piatt 
found his pecuniary affairs involved in ruin, as a result of his 
devotion to his duties upon the bench. In this he was not 
alone, for several of the early judges of our Supremo Court 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 793 

became reduced to penury, were compelled by their necessi- 
ties to resign their offices, and died almost or quite in want, 
because of the inadequacy of their salaries. 

Judge Piatt returned to the bar with all the ardor and in- 
dustry of youth, as far as possible to secure a future compe- 
tency, and soon found a full flow of business. Although in 
his younger years, he had in his native composition a large 
amount of fire, he had now by the force of discipline become 
one of the most cool, as well as powerful and successful advo- 
cates. The confidence of juries in his candor often enabled 
him to bear away the palm from able yet more ardent com- 
petitors. After a few years he removed to Plattsburgh, 
where he died. In the meridian of life. Judge Piatt pro- 
fessed the religion of Jesus. He was a member and after- 
wards an elder in the Presbyterian church in Whitesboro. 

Judge Piatt had in his employ, for a long time, a col- 
ored man, named Dempsy Slater, who resided in Deerfield. 
During the time that the Rev. Mr. Carnahan preached in 
Whitesboro, Slater sickened and died, and the judge accom- 
panied Mr. Carnahan to the funeral. Scarcely a word passed 
between them until they had proceeded about one half the 
distance, when Judge Piatt, with great solemnity, remarked. 
■•• I had now rather be Dempsy Slater than Alexander, Julius 
Cajsar, or the greatest man who ever lived. He has been in 
my service several years, and never intentionally wronged mc 
out of a cent. He was an honest man, and a devout Chris" 
tian, and I doubt not his happy spirit is now in Heaven. 
The life of such a man does more to convince me of the truth 
of the Christian religion than all the books I ever read." 

Gen. George Doolittle was an orderly sergeant in the con- 
tinental army of the revolutionary war. A shoemaker by 
trade, he carried his " kit" of tools through the whole of that 



794 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. fCHAP. 

contest. Whenever not upon a march or on duty, he was 
ever ready to unpack his tools and mend his compatriots 
boots and shoes. In this way he earned money, which was 
carefully saved. With such habits he could scarcely fail of 
being successful in after life. He removed to Whitestown at 
an early period, and with his little capital thus obtained, sat 
up the tanning, currying and shoe making business. He was 
the first brigadier-general of militia, commissioned in the 
county. He was the first general ever seen by the author, 
and with the uniform of his grade, a coat trimmed with yel- 
low buff, and under clothes of the same. General Washington 
could not have shown to a better advantage in the eyes of the 
boy of eight years. The general was a highly respectable 
and estimable citizen. 

The following obituary notice of Gen. Doolittle, published 
in the Utica Christian Il%jx)sitory^ for March, 1 82.5, contains 
many facts relating to his history : 

•' Died. — At Whitesboro, on the 21st of February, 182-5. Creneral 
George Doolittle, aged Go years. General Doolittle was among 
the first settlers in this now rich and populous country. He emigra- 
ted from Middletown, Conn, the place of his nativity, thirt}'-nine 
years ago. He has through life sustained a fair moral character. 
He was distinguished as a man of profoimd judgment, of great inde- 
pendence of mind and unbending integrity. He spent almost six 
years of his life in the service of his country, during the struggle 
wjiicli gave birth to our independence. He has been elected a mem- 
ber of the Legislature of this State, and has held the office of super- 
visor in this town for more than twenty years. As a husband and 
father he was respected and beloved. He has left a beloved wife, 
ten children, and twenty-eight grand-children, and a numerous cir- 
cle of relations and friends to lament his sudden departure. He 
united with the church in this place about twelve years since. He 
was soon after elected by a unanimous vote of the church to the of- 
fice of ruling elder, and as such has been a valuable counsellor, and 
a great blessing to the church. 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 795 

" On Sabbath evening he attended a conference meeting, returned 
home with his wife and family in perfect health, manifested mucli 
interest in the revival which exists among us at this time, and ex- 
pressed his hope that it would extend. Before retiring he called his 
family together, and prayed with unusual fervor with them. He 
retired to rest as well as usual ; at one o'clock he was seized witli 
an apoplectic fit ; he spoke a few words, but soon became insensible, 
and on the succeeding evening expired." 

Dr. Elizur Mosely was for so many years post-master at 
Whitesboro, that when he left the office he was the oldest 
post-master in the United States. He was appointed sheriff 
of Oneida County, January 1, 1799, and held the office until 
November 5, 1800. In 1798, he was an assistant justice of 
the county court. 

Thomas 11. Gold was an eminent lawyer, and as an advo- 
cate, for many years, stood at the head of his profession in 
the county, and indeed central New York. He represented 
this district in Congress in 1810, '11, '12 and '13, and such 
were his habits of industry tliere, that it was said of him. 
that he was the last to retire and the first up in the morning 
of any member of that body. Pie was elected to the State 
Senate in 1796, and held the office four years, and in 1800 
he was chosen a member of the council of appointment. His 
opportunities, as an early settler, with his untiring assiduity, 
enabled him to accumulate a handsome fortune. He was 
liberal and public spirited. After the erection of the first 
Presbyterian meeting house in 1803, it became necessary to 
level the ground around it. On this occasion, Mr. Gold 
drove the oxen attached to the plow, while Judge Piatt and 
several others, unused to the employment, used the spade and 
shovel. During Mr. Carnahan's pastorate over the united 
societies of " Whitestown and Old Fort Schuyler," he preached 



796 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

a portion of the time on Lord's-day, in the morning at 
Whitesboro, and in the afternoon at Fort Schuyler now 
Utica. Deacon Thurston, an eminently good man, rich in 
faith, yet poor in this world's goods, used to walk from 
Whitesboro to Fort Schuyler during the intermission, so as 
to lose no portion of the services of the sanctuary. Mr. Gold, 
witnessing the deacon's faithfulness, purchased and presented 
to him a good horse, saddle and bridle. 

William Gr. Tracy was among the earliest merchants in 
Whitesboro. He soon established the reputation of an hon- 
est, fair dealer, and this character he well sustained for a 
long series of years, and Tracy's store was much resorted to 
on account of the probity of its proprietor. It may not be 
entirely uninteresting, to give a little incident to show the 
price of calico in the first year of the present century. In 
the spring of 1800, the eldest sister of the author having 
arrived at the age of fourteen, was presented with a new 
dress as a birth-day present. Her father purchased it at 
Tracy's, and, while being made, the house of the dressmaker 
was burned, and with it the new dress. Tracy's store was 
again resorted to, and another dress procured of the same 
quality as the first. In consideration of the hard fortune of 
the former, Mr. Tracy kindly deducted the odd pennies in 
the price per yard, and this circumstance enables the author 
to recollect the price. The first was six shillings and six- 
pence per yard, and the second six shillings. A better and 
iiandsomer article of calico, equally durable, can now be pur- 
chased for from ten to twelve and a half cents per yard. 

Arthur Breese was a respectable lawyer, and for a number 
of years, after the organization of the county, was surrogate. 
( Vide Utica.) 



XXIX.] WIIITESTOWN. 797 

Henry R. Storrs was not one of the earliest settlers of 
Whitestown, but became one of its most prominent citizens. 
He was a native of the state of Connecticut, and was a grad- 
uate of one of its colleges. After his removal to the county, 
he soon became one of the brightest ornaments of its bar, and 
for bold, commanding eloquence, stood unrivalled in central 
New York. He was first judge of the Oneida County Court.s 
for one term, and twice represented the county in the House 
of Representatives of the United States. He there became 
acquainted with Henry Clay, and their acquaintance soon 
ripened into a friendship, personal and political. A few 
years since, while Mr. Clay was upon a visit to the western 
part of the state, and subsequently to the death of Judge 
Storrs, a committee of Mr. Clay's friends in the county, pre- 
,3ented him with an invitation to visit the county, and partake 
of their hospitalities in the city of Utica. Pre-engagements 
prevented an acceptance of the invitation, and in his letter so 
informing the committee, he took the occasion to advert to 
Judge Storrs in a most feeling and appropriate manner. 

A few years before his death, Judge Storrs removed to the 
■city of New York, and commenced the practice of the law. 
In this wider sphere, he had but commenced winning and 
receiving the golden opinions of the city, when he was cut 
dovfn by the bursting of a blood vessel while but in the me- 
ridian of life. 

In this connection, it may be proper to mention Ephraim 
Webster, who, for many years, was distinguished as a member 
of the Onondaga nation of Indians, and, for many years, as 
Indian agent and interpreter. He was born in 1752, at 
Hempstead, New Hampshire. In 1773, with his father, he 
removed to the banks of the Hudson, in this state ; and in 
1778, he enlisted into the army of the United States, and 



798' ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [c»AP. 

served to tlie close of the revolutionary contest. Keturning 
to bis home, be found tbat tbe quiet pursuits of agriculture 
were incompatible with his roving disposition and love of 
adventure. Furnished with a small stock of goods, he left 
home for the purpose of trading with the Oneidas, with 
whom he had had some acquaintance during the war. This 
was probably in 1784, as he was present at the treaty of Fort 
Stanwix of this year ; and after surmounting many difficul- 
ties in ascending the Mohawk, his partner having become 
discouraged and returned home, Webster located himself at 
Oriskany, where he established a trading house. Here he 
remained two years, doing a successful business and master- 
ing the Indian language. In the spring of 1786, he accepted 
au invitation from the Onondagas, to remove his goods and 
business to Onondaga. There he remained the remainder of . 
his life. He was adopted into the Onondaga tribe, married 
an Indian woman, by whom he had several children, and re- 
ceived 640 acres of land, the title to which was confirmed to 
him by the state. During the Indian war of 1788-94, he 
was employed, on account of his knowledge of Indian lan- 
guage and eustom,s, to gain intelligence in the country of the 
Miamis. In 1812, with the commission of captain in the 
militia, he proceeded to the Niagara frontier, with about 300 
Onondaga warriors, under their chief La Fort, who was 
elected also head war-chief of the six nations, and who fell at 
Chippewa. Webster acted as interpreter between General 
Brown and the Indians, and La Fort died in his arms. 

Webster died at Tuscarora in 1825, and was buried at 
Onondaga. For many years he conformed to the habits and 
dress of the Indians, to such a degree that it was difficult to 
distinguish him from a native. Upon one occasion, before 
the British had surrendered Oswego under Jay's treaty, he 
was suspected by an officer, at that place, of being a white 



XXIX. J WIIITESTOWN. 799 

man and spy. but such self-possession and self-command had 
lie acquired, that although plied with liquor, and many de- 
vices were resorted to, to throw him off his guard, he was 
discharged as a real Indian. After the death of his Indian 
ivifc^ he married a white woman of a very respectable family. 

At the period of the first settlement of Whitestown, the 
Indian title had not been extinguished to any portion of the 
country westward of the " line of property." Most of the 
Oneidas, it was known, had. during the war just teyninated, 
maintained their professions of friendship for the Americans 
in a consistent and honorable manner. But the fact was 
also well understood, that the other tribes of the six nations 
still felt the smart of the blows inflicted upon them at the 
battle of Oriskany, and by the more recent expedition of Gen. 
Sullivan into their country, and secretly desired an opportu- 
nity^ to take vengeance upon the countrymen of those who 
chastised them. This rendered Judge White's position upon 
liis removal to the Sauquoit that of a frontier settler, and re- 
quired the exercise of much prudence and sagacity in his inter- 
course with his red neighbors. He soon acquired their good- 
will, and was so fortunate as to inspire them with very exalted 
ideas of his character and prowess. For a few years after his 
arrival, quite a number of the Oneidas resided at Oriskany, 
where an Indian clearing of more than 200 acres, now a part 
of the "Green Farms," had been made long before the Revo- 
lution. The intercourse of himself and family, with this lit- 
tle settlement was of the most friendly character, but it was 
marked by an incident which illustrated, it may be, the lurk- 
ing feeling of jealousy as well as the sentiments entertained 
for him by these his only neighbors. 

At the time Judge White's arrival, an old chief, named Han 
Yerry, resided at Oriskany, who, during the war had acted 



800 ANNALS OF ONEIBA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

with the royal party, and who had been dubbed with the title 
of " Colonel," probably from his having held a commission of 
that grade from the king. One day he called upon the Judge 
with his wife, and a mulatto woman belonging to him, named 
Lane, who acted as his interpreter. After some little conver- 
sation, the Colonel interrogated the Judge with : " Are you 
my friend ?" " Yes," replied the Judge. " Well, then," said the 
Colonel, " do you believe I am your friend ?" " Yes, Han Yer- 
ry," was the reply, " I believe you are." The Colonel then re- 
joined, ".Well, if you are my friend, and you believe I am your 
friend, I will tell you what I want, and then I shall know 
whether you speak true words." " And what is it that you 
want," inquired the Judge. The Colonel then pointed to a 
little grandchild, the daughter of one of his sons, then be- 
tween two and three years old, and said : " My squaw wants 
to take this pappoose home with us to stay one night, and 
bring her home to-morrow ; if you are my friend, you will 
now show me." The feelings of the grandfather at once up- 
rose in his bosom, and the child's mother started with horror 
and alarm at the thought of trusting her darling prattler 
"with the rude tenants of the forest. The question was full 
of interest. On the one hand, the necessity of placing un- 
limited confidence in the savage, and entrusting the welfare 
and the life of his grandchild with him ; on Lhe other, the 
certain enmity of a man of influence in his n:i,tien, and one 
who had been the open enemy of his countrymen in their 
recent struggle. But he made the decision wii-h a sagacity 
that showed he properly estimated the charact'ir of the per- 
son with whom he was dealing. He believed, that by placin,?: 
implicit confidence in him, he should command the sense of 
honor which seems peculiar to the uncontaminated Indian. 
He told him to take the child ; and as the mother, scarcely 
suffering it to be parted from her. relinquished it into tlie 



XXIX. J WHITESTOWN. 801 

hands of tlte old man's wife, Le soothed her fears with his 
assurances of confidence in their promises. That night, how- 
ever, was a long one; and during the whole of next morning 
many and often were the anxious glances cast up the path- 
way leading from Oriskany, if possible to discover the Indi- 
ans and their little charge, upon their return to its home. 
But no Indians came in sight. It at length became high 
noon ; all a mother's fears were aroused, she could scarcely 
be restrained from rushing in pursuit of her loved one. But 
her father represented to her the gross indignity which a sus- 
picion of their intentions would arouse in the breast of the 
chief; and half frantic though she was, she was restrained. 
The afternoon slowly wore away, and still nothing was seen 
of her child. The sun had nearly reached the horizon, and 
the mother's heart had swollen beyond further endurance, 
when the forms of the friendly chief and his wife, bearing 
upon her shoulders their little visitor, greeted its mother's 
vision. If a mother reads my tale, she can tell more perfect- 
ly that mother's feelings, as she clasped the little one once 
more to her bosom, and felt its warm heart pulsate to her 
own. The dress which the child had worn from home had 
been removed, and in its place, its Indian friends had substi- 
tuted a complete suit of Indian garments, so as to com- 
pletely metamorphose it into a little squaw. The sequel of 
this adventure was the establishment of a most ardent 
attachment and regard on the part of the Indian and his 
friends for the white settlers. The child, now Mrs. Eells 
of Missouri, the widow of the late Nathaniel Eells of 
Whitesboro, still remembers some incidents occurring on the 
night of her stay in the wigwam, and the kindness of her 
Indian hostess." 

" Another anecdote of Judge White may not be uninteres- 
ting in this connection. An Oneida, of rather athletic forra_ 

51 



802 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY [ciUr. 

was one day present at his liouse with several of his compan- 
ions, and at length, for amusement, commenced wrestling 
After a number of trials had been made, in which the chief 
came off conqueror, he came forward and challenged the set- 
tler to a clinch with him. This was done in a manner, and 
with a degree of braggadocio, that convinced the Judge that 
if he refused the encounter, it would subject him to the con- 
stant inconvenience of being brow-beaten by the Indian, and 
C03t him the trouble of being believed a coward. In early 
manhood he had been a wrestler, but he had become quite 
corpulent, and for years unused to any athletic feats. He 
felt conscious, however, of great personal strength, and he 
concluded, that even should he be thrown, yet as a choice of 
evils, the being thrown would be a lesser one, than the ac- 
quiring of a character of cowardice by declining. He there- 
fore accepted the challenge, and took bold with the Indian, 
and by a fortunate trip, succeeded almost instantly in throw- 
ing him. As he saw him falling, in order to prevent the 
necessity of ever making another trial of his powers,. and of 
receiving any new challenge, he contrived to fall with all his 
weight, he then constituting an avoirdupois of some 250 lbs , 
upon the Indian. The weight for an instant drove all breath 
from the poor fellow's body ; and it was some moments before 
he could get up. At length he slowly arose, shrugged his 
shoulders with an emphatic. ' Ugh ! you good fellow, too 
much.' I need not add, that he was never afterwards chal- 
lenged to wrestle with an Indian." — Traa/s Lectures. 

Judge White's opportunities in early life for obtaining an 
education were limited. In his manners he was somewhat 
rough and repulsive, yet there was more of the " lailk of hu- 
man kindness " in his heart, than he was usually accredited 
with, except by those intimately acquainted with him. A 
few incidents will more fully illustrate his character. 



XXIX. } WHITESTOWN. 803 

The first summer of Mr. Carnahan's pastorate in Whites- 
boro, he wishing to obtain pasture for his cow, called upon 
€apt. Hugh White, who said he had none to spare, but that 
his father, the Judge, had plenty, and advised Mi*. Carnahan 
to apply to him. He did so, and was met with the reply, 
•• No ! no ! I have none to spare, very scant myself" Mr. 
Carnahan mentioned the blunt refusal to a neighbor, who 
laughingly remarked, that the Captain had given him the ad- 
vice in sport, and that he knew the Judge would refuse. A 
few mornings afterwards the Judge rode his pacing nag to 
Mr. Carnahan's door, and rapping with his whip, and upon 
the appearance of Mr. Carnahan, said, '• I have a lot close by 
you here, turn in your cow and welcome, as long as you 
please." Upon examination, Mr. Carnahan found first rate 
pasture, with plenty of water and shade, and although suffi- 
cient for half a dozen, his cow was the only occupant during 
the season. In the fall, when Mr. Carnahan called to pay for 
the pasturage, the money was as abruptly refused as was the 
pasture. 

A summer or two afterwards, the cow failing in her milk, 
Mr. Carnahan decided to make beef of her. This intention 
coming to the ears of the Judge, he rode to Mr. Carnahan's 
door as upon the former occasion, and said, " I hear you are 
going to fat your cow — too late beginning — you must do the 
best you can — turn her into my meadow — and give her as 
much corn-meal and potatoes as she will eat — don't be afraid — 
what you put in, you will eat out," and ofi" he rode, without 
waiting for thanks. 

Upon another occasion he also volunteered his aid. One 
of his neighbors had lost his horse, and it was not found for 
several weeks. As soon as the Judge heard of it, he rode to 
the neighbor's, leading a horse, and said, "you have lost your 
horse — here is one — take him and use him until you find 



804 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

your own — when you are not using him turn him into my 
pasture — it is near at hand." 

For a number of years, the Judge kept for his own use an 
easy going, stout grey horse, which in the day time was kept 
tied in the shade of a maple tree, near his door, so as to be 
ready, Avhenever he wished to visit his laborers. If, perchance, 
this should meet the eye of any who were acquainted with him 
and his manner of riding, it is pi'esumed that the figure of thr 
old gentleman ambling along upon the grey horse, through, 
the streets, and around his farm in his own peculiar manner, 
will be brought vividly to view. The house and maple tree 
yet stand, while the "horse and his rider" have long since 
ceased to exist. 

Judge White's intercourse with the Oneida Indians was 
most friendly. Indeed, he had been at his new home but a few 
months, before they proposed to him to become a member of 
their tribe. Tiie Judge had the sagacity to see. at once, that 
policy required him to accept the proffered compliment, and a 
day was soon appointed for the imposing ceremony. At the 
day, Scanandoah, Col. Han Yerry, Good Peter, and some otlier 
chiefs and Indians appeared at the residence of the Judge. 
and with much pomp, circumstance and mystery, he was duly 
initiated into the Oneida tribe. 

If, by Jay's treaty, the British had not been induced to give 
up the posts held by them on our northern frontier, and their 
intrigues with the Indians had not been discontinued, his 
Oneida citizenship might have proved as beneficial as that of 
a Roman, anciently. It is not now known, that he derived any 
particular benefits from this relation, other than the friend- 
ship of the Indians, and his share of the salmon caught at the 
first fishing of each season at Tegesoken (Fish Creek). Tlie 
next spring after his adoption. Judge White was notified U> 
attend the fishing at the forks of that creek. At the appointed 



XXIX.] WIIITESTOWxNT. 805 

time, be and several of his sons, Pliilo the fisherman of course 
included, took their batteau, ascended the Mohawk to Fort 
Stanwix, from thence across to and down Wood Creek, up 
Fish Creek to the fishing ground, where the ceremonies of 
catching the first salmon of the season were witnessed, and 
after receiving the proportionate share for each member of his 
Jiousehold, returned to Whitesboro. A more particular de- 
scription of this custom of the Oneidas will be found in 
another place. 

In a few years after the arrival of Judge White, the set- 
tlement of Whitestown had so far progressed, that it was 
thought advisable to organize a company of militia, and Gov. 
George Clinton was applied to, to commission the requisite 
officers. The governor informed them, that, if a company of 
thirty men could be mustered, commissions should be issued 
forthwith. The names of the required number were soon 
procured, and with the advice of Col. Staring, who com- 
manded the regiment to which the company was to be at- 
tached, the names for the commissions were forwarded. 
William Colbrath, previously a resident of Herkimer, but 
who had removed within the beat of the company, was cap- 
tain, but the name of the lieutenant cannot now be ascertained. 
Judge White was anxious that his son, Hugh, should receive 
tlie ensign's commission, but Col. Staring, who was well 
acquainted with the sons, said, " No, no, Hugh is not de poy ; 
Daniel is de poy !" and Daniel C. received the commission. 
Daniel C. died early some time previously to 1800. He 
iiad, however, lived to receive a colonel's commission, and 
commanded a regiment of militia, which met in Whitesboro. 
He was the father of the Hon. Fortune C. White, a man of 
prominence in the county, and who has been brigadier-gen- 
eral, member of Assembly and first judge. He now resides 
at Yonkers, upon the Hudson river. 



SOS ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

The first person who died inWhitestown was Mrs. Blacksly. 
who resided with and was the aunt of Judge White. She 
was interred in the orchard now owned by Harvey Bradley. 
The author has been unable to ascertain the time of her 
death, but it was within a very few years after the first ar- 
rival of Judge "White. 

The first child born in the town, or indeed of Yanke<^ 
parentage in ihe county, was Esther White, daughter of 
Daniel C White, who was born in 1785. She was after- 
wards the wife of the Hon. Henry R. Storrs, whom she still 
survives. 



It has been incidentally mentioned, that a branch of the 
Oneida tribe of Indians resided at Oriskany. When Judge 
White settled in Whitestown, they occupied six lodges or 
wigwams. Col. Han Yerry resided in a log cabin, which 
stood just back of the house formerly occupied by Mr 
Charles Green, on the easterly side of the Oriskany Creek. 
The other five cabins stood on the westerly side of the creek. 
Col. Han Yerry had two sons, Cornelius and Jacob, and one 
daughter, Dolly, who married one of the Denny family at 
Oneida. Hendrick Smith, who afterwards lived in the south 
part of Vernon at the Indian orchard, was the head of one of 
the families on the west side of the creek. Cornelius, Han 
Yerry's eldest son, has been mentioned, as the avenger of 
blood, in the history of Augusta. 

Col. Han Yerry, as before stated, in the Revolution es- 
poused the cause of the king. A few months after the 
arrival of Judge White at Whitesboro, his son Philo called 
at the colonel's house at Oriskany, but found that the family 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWiV. 807 

were all absent, except tlie colonel's wife. After talking 
awhile upon various subjects, the woman proceeded to remove 
the bunk and bedding from one corner of the room, and then 
taking up a portion of the floor brought to light a ten-gallon 
keg, which she soon unheaded. This h^g was filled with 
silver plate, which she carefully took out, piece by piece, and 
exhibited to her guest. Some of the articles were very val- 
uable, and among them was a heavy and highly ornamented 
silver tankard. After thus showing the ware, it \^as care- 
fully returned to its hiding-place. In looking about the 
room, Philo counted eight brass and copper kettles, of vari- 
ous sizes, and about the premises were many kinds of farm- 
ing utensils. As Mr. White was subsequently passing down 
the Mohawk, he called at the public hou.sc kept by the widow 
of Gren. Herkimer ; and, in conversation with the widow, he 
mentioned the keg of silver plate, and particularly the mas- 
sive tankard, describing many of its ornaments. From this 
description, the widow, at once, recognized it as one which 
had been pillaged from her house during the war. It is 
probable, that the plate, kettles and agricultural implements 
were plundered from the suffering inhabitants of the valley 
of the Mohawk. 

The precise year in which the Indian settlement at Oris- 
kanj was broken up, or whether they all left at the same 
time, has not been ascertained ; but it is certain that they 
all left previously to 1793. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 



On the 1st of April, 1793, a meeting was held to take 
measures for organizing a religious society, and Thomas R. 



808 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Gold, Aaron Clark, George Doolittle, Jonas Piatt, Stephen 
Potter, Joseph Root, Reuben Wilcox and David Williams 
were appointed a committee to draft a constitution. This 
committee, doubtless, performed their duty, but the result of 
their labor is lost. 

The society, by the style of " The United Presbyterian 
Societies of Whitestown and Old Fort Schuyler," was in- 
corporated shortly after and the following persons were 
elected its first trustees, viz. : Jonas Piatt, Joseph Root. 
Thomas R. Gold, Amos Wetmore, David Williams, John 
Post, Elizur Mosely, Stephen Potter, Enoch Story, Reuben 
Wilcox, Arthur Breese, Erastus Clark and Silas Clark. 
Part of the trustees resided at each place, Messrs. Post. 
Potter, E. Clark, and perhaps others at Old Fort Schuyk-r. 

At the close of half a century from the formation of the 
church, the Rev. Walter R. Long, then its pastor, preached 
two sermons appropriate to the occasion. The " concluding- 
reflections " contain such a condensed and beautiful history 
of the church, that they are given entire, with a few slight 
omissions : 

" In closing this historical research, mingled emotions of 
gratitude, love and praise, have been inspired by the review. 
We have learned that more than half a century since, when 
this country was comparatively new, some of the first settlers 
organized themselves into a religious and ecclesiastical so- 
ciety : called a pastor, the Rev. Bethuel Dodd, who was set- 
tled over them, August 20th, 1794. This was the first Pres- 
byterian church west of Albany. Fourteen persons were 
received into the communion, January 1st, 1795. The first 
house of worship was dedicated in 1804, and the pastor's 
funeral attended in it a few weeks after. Three houses of 
worship have been erected by the united societies, two in 
Whitesboro and one in Utica, at an expense of more than 



XXIX.] WIIITESTOWN. 809 

§ 15,000. Five pastors have officiated successively in this 
church, two of whom have gone to their rest. Statistical 
facts furnish ample occasion for gratitude and praise. This 
church coniRienced with fourteen members. About 800 
have been added by profession, 317 by letter. Total 1,117. 
491 have been dismissed to other churches, to form new ones. 
Sixty-four have died while connected with the church, and 
thirty have been excluded. Ten revivals of religion have 
been enjoyed, some of which were of great power and inte- 
rest. They are like so many verdant spots, upon which the 
eye looks back with inexpressible delight. Though numeri- 
cally this church is not as large as in the palmiest days of its 
prosperity, when, in 1832, it numbered 393, still its members 
are more numerous than in the days of Messrs. Dodd and 
Carnahan, and for some years after Rev. Mr. Frost was set- 
tled over this church. There were 133 on the catalogue at 
the close of the fiftieth year since the church v.'as formed, 
while there were but 129 members connected with the united 
church of Whitestown and Utica, at the time of the amicable 
division in 1813. When Mr. Frost was settled over this 
church, there were only about fifty members living in the vil- 
lage of "Whitesboro, and of these only four were male mem- 
bers. The society was feeble. There was no separate or- 
ganization as long as Mr. Carnahan remained. There were 
only five male members in Utica; but there were some 
twelve or more active, intelligent, pious females, and through 
their influence the Gospel was introduced and maintained- 
"When Mr. Dodd was settled here, Utica was hardly in ex- 
istence, and formed no part of his charge. As it increased, 
he preached there occasionally, perhaps once a month, and 
then once in two weeks, and before his death one-half the 
time. Thus we see that from the grain of spiritual seed 
sown here more than fifty years since, a large tree has grown 



810 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

up, beneath whose branches, hundreds, nay thousands, have 
sat and been refreshed with the dews of Heaven. This is 
properly the parent church of four separate ecclesiastical or- 
ganizations around it, which number in the aggregate several 
hundred communicants. Thus the parent tree has been an- 
nually scattering its foliage and sowing its seed, to make glad 
the wilderness and cause the desert to rejoice. Thus it is 
with the handful of corn, and thus it is with the Gospel seed 
sown in God's moral vineyard. About 1000 are connected 
with the branches of this church. They are for the most 
part furnished with spacious and commodious houses of wor- 
ship. 

" We cannot but admire the spirit of self-denial and noble- 
hearted benevolence of the pioneers of Whitestown, and that 
of their children upon whom their mantles have ftillen. For 
God's providential care let us make suitable expressions of 
gratitude. From the history of the past, may we not, after 
the expiration of fifty years, set up our Ebenezer, a half cen- 
tury memorial of the watchful guardianship of a kind Pro- 
vidence, and inscribe apon it, ' Hitherto has the Lord 
helped it.' " 

The five pastors alluded to were Bethuel Dodd, Jamts 
Oarnahan, John Frost, Ira Pettibone, David S. Ogden. 

The Rev. Bethuel Dodd came to AYhitestown and preached 
in the public house of Col. Daniel C. White, August 20tl:, 
1794. His text was Acts x, 29, " I ask therefore for what 
intent ye have sent for me ? " He was ordained by the 
Presbytery of Albany in an arbor formed near where the 
court house now stands, upon which occasion the Rev. Mr. 
McDonald preached. Mr. Dodd died April 12th, 1804. 
The Rev. James Carnahan was next called, and was or- 
dained January 2d, 1S05. On account of ill health, and by 
the united request of himself and society he was dismissed, 



XXIX.] V/HITESTOWN. SI I 

October 25th, 1812. The Rev. Mr. Carnahan is cow presi- 
dent of Nassau Hall, New Jersey. Rev. John Frost was 
called November 4th, 1812, and was ordained March 17th, 
1813, and was dismissed on account of having been appointed 
general agent for the Oneida Institute, February 5th, 1833. 
Mr. Frost afterwards was settled at Waterville, and died in 
Whitesboro. December 16th, 1833, a call was given the 
Rev. Ira Pettibone, who was ordained February 4th, 1834, 
and was dismissed at his own request, February 3d, 183G. 
The Rev. David S. Ogdeu received a call and was installed 
December 28, 1836, dismissed on his own request October 
3d, 1841. The Rev. Walter R. Long, the present pastor, was 
installed February 20th, 1845. The first meeting houst^ 
was erected in 1803, and dedicated in 1804. The text of 
the dedication sermon was Psalms cxlvii, 20, " the Lord hatli 
not dealt so with any nation." The house was sixty by for- 
ty-five feet, and cost $ 4.508,45. The present brick church 
was erected in 1834, and dedicated in the fall of the same 
year. Rev. Mr. Aiken, of Utica, preaching upon the occasion. 
Cost 8 5,105. 

The four churches that have been formed from this church 
are the following: February 3d, 1813, the church was divi- 
ded, and fifty-seven members set off to the Utica church. 
March 18th, 1830, forty-four members were dismissed to 
form a church at New York Mills. The church at New 
York Mills now numbers 342 communicants. In 1832, the 
church at Oriskany was formed, taking fifty members from 
this body. December 26th, 1837, fifty-nine persons with- 
drew, and formed a Congregational Church in Whitesboro. 
It is believed, that the subject of slavery had luuch to do 
with this last secession. Mr. Long, in his half century ser- 
mon, says, " of this secession he would record as little as pos- 
sible. The historian, who shall preach vt,centen7iial discourse 



812 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

a half ceutury hence, will be able to give a more impartial 
account of the whole matter, when the parties acting in it 
shall have been saved by grace." The Congregational socie- 
ty have erected a small but convenient house of worship. 

" Abolitionism has more troubled this Presbyterian church 
and society than any other in the county." If the following 
resolution passed by the session, December 11th, 1835, had 
been adhered to, much trouble might have been saved. 

'■'• Resolved, That light and love, free remonstrance, and 
frequent supplication to God, are the weapons of our warfare 
against slavery. We believe it our duty, perseveringly to 
use such weapons while a vestige of it is left, and these we 
believe will be mighty through God, to the demolishing its 
strong-holds. "We do. therefore, earnestly recommend to the 
brethren of this church, to treat this subject in such a man- 
ner as shall convince men that in all their measures they are 
prompted by pure benevolence, a regard for the best inter- 
ests of master and slave, and that their reliance is upon Him 
who heareth prayer, and who regards the rights of the poor." 

In 179G, the Kev. Stephen Parsons, a Baptist Minister of 
Middletown, Connecticut, having many acquaintances and 
some relatives in the " Whitestown country " visited the 
place. During this visit he baptised five persons. In June 
of the same year he revisited the place, and the five individuals 
whom he had baptised during his first visit, with two others, 
met at the house of Caleb Douglass, on the 18th of June, 
179G, and after spending a part of the day in prayer and 
conversation, entered into covenant with each other to walk 
together as a church of Christ. Elder Parsons being pres- 
ent gave them the hand of fellowship as a Christian church. 
The transaction was one of great simplicity, and was very 
much in accordance with primitive usage. Elder Parsons, 
having been instrumental in organizing the church, was so- 



XXIX.] WIIITESTOWN. 81^ 

licited by many persons to remove, and settle in the place as 
a minister, and in September of the same year he arrived 
with his family. In the December following, the church ex- 
tended him an invitation to become their pastor, which was 
accepted. This was the first Baptist Church organized in 
the county of Oneida, and Elder Parsons the first Baptist 
minister. Among the number first baptised, was Caleb 
Douglass, an excellent man, and the church elected him their 
clerk, and their first deacon. During several years the 
church increased in numbers and influence, gradually and 
slowly. Whitesboro was at this time the centre of influence 
to a wide extent of country, and this church was for several 
years the spiritual home of Baptist members, living in many 
towns around. Beginning with seven members, it had at the 
end of five years increased to forty -nine. This brings us to 
a period when other churches began to be formed in the new 
and sparse settlements of the surrounding country. In 1801. 
six members were dismissed, to join with others in forming a 
church in the town of Steuben, and in October of this year a 
council fellowshipped a church there of sixteen members. 

In these early days the churches, in the language of the 
times, "kept open doors " for the improvement of the gifts of 
their members, and they were accustomed to exhort one an- 
other, and those who met with them to seek " the pearl of 
great price." Deacon Douglass, as he was then known, was 
frequently amid the destitution of that earl 3'^ day, called upon 
to conduct public worship, and was finally approved by the 
churcli as a minister of the gospel. He was publicly ordained 
January 7th, 1802, by a council called from the first and 
second churches in Hamilton, first and second in Litchfield, 
and the churches in Paris. Sangerfield, Steuben and Schuy- 
ler. In December following. Elder Parsons resigned his 
pastoral charge, and on the 14th of January, 1803, Elder 



814 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP 

Douglass was invited to the pastorate thus made vacant, and 
the invitation was accepted in May following. In March. 1 803, 
six members were dismissed to unite in forming a church in 
Westmoreland. In May, of the latter year, Elder Parsons 
took a letter of dismission and removed to Mexico, in what 
was then called the " Black River Country." It must be 
borne in mind that the town of Mexico at this time covered a 
large portion of Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego Counties, and a 
considerable sectien of Oneida. 

Elder Parsons was a laborious and useful minister in the 
new settlements upon the Elack River until 1820, when, 
from the effects of a fall in his barn, he died. lie was pastor 
of this church six years. 

The first mention of any method for the support of the 
Gospel is in June. 1814. A committee was then appointed 
to draw up and circulate a subscription for that purpose. 
The late Dr. Charles Eabcock, of New Hartford, was a 
member of tha.t committee. 

In May, 1815, Elder Elon Galusha was with the churcii 
for the first time. 

The first Lord's-day in September is mentioned as a pecu 
liarly interesting day, Elders Galusha and John Peck and 
ninety members being present at the communion. 

In May, 1816, Elder Douglass requested to be released 
from the responsibilities of the pastoral oflBce. He had been 
pastor thirteen years, in which seventy-one persons had 
united with the church by baptism. Upon the first Lord's- 
day, in March preceding. Elder Galusha had been received 
as a member of the church, and in May he became its pastor. 

The years 1815, '16 and '17 were years of Eiueh religious 
interest, during which sixty-five were admitted by baptism ; 
and in 1820. it is inferred that a powerful revival was expe- 
rienced, as seventy-three persons were admitted by that or di 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. SIJ> 

nance. This is the largest number over received into the 
church in one year, with the exception of 1838. 

In December, 1817, a council was called to recognize the 
church in Rome, as a regularly organized Baptist Church. 
Another was called in 1818, to organize a church in the 
north part of Westmoreland. 

In the years 1825, '26 and '27 there were large additions 
by baptisms. 

In August, 1827, Elder Douglass and family were di?- 
■:nissed from the church, and removed to Gorham, Ontario 
County. 

In the spring of 1831, Elder Galusha resigned the pastoral 
charge, which he had held for fifteen years. His ministry 
had been successful, and the church had become a leading 
one, and exerted a wide influence. Elder Galusha was suc- 
ceeded immediately by the Rev. A. L. Covill, who was a 
successful and laborious pastor and minister. He was the 
sou of the Rev. Lemuel Covill, who died on the field of his 
labors as a missionary in Canada. Elder A. L. Covill was 
pastor nearly six years, when he suddenly terminated this 
relation, and removed to Albany, and became the pastor of 
the first church in that city. After laboring in that church 
a few years, his earthly stewardship was closed, and he called 
to receive the reward of a faitliful minister. 

The church, after a satisfactory trial, settled as its nest pas- 
tor the Rev. Clessen P. Sheldon. He was young, and thi.s 
was his first settlement. He commenced his labors in 1837, 
/and ended them in 1843. During his ministry large addi- 
tions were made to the church upon profession of faith. In 
1838. eighty-two persons were received by baptism, the lar- 
gest number ever received in any year. In September, 1843, 
Mr. Sheldon resigned his connection with the church as pas- 
tor. During his labors here he acquired the reputation of a 



816 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

good man, conscientiously and ardently devoted to the service 
of Christ. He afterwards became pastor of a church in Ham- 
ilton, and at this time is pastor of a flourishing church in Buf- 
falo. Immediately upon his resignation, the Rev. Jireli 1). 
Cole received and accepted a call from the church to becouu; 
its pastor. He continued his labors until Ma3^ 1848, when 
he resigned. In 1849, Elder Samuel E. Shotwell was pas- 
tor, but in 1850 and '51, no pastor was reported, the church 
having been supplied by several preachers. Since the most 
of this work was printed, Elder William Clark of Cazenovia 
has accepted a call to become pastor of this church, and will 
enter upon his duties in October of this jear (1851). From 
the organization of the church in 1796 until July 1846, a 
period of fifty years, 752 members had been received into its 
fellowship by baptism, and 431 by letter, making a total of 
1 183 members. Of this number, 626 had been dismissed to 
other churches. According to the minutes of the annual 
session of the Oneida Baptist Association, held in September. 
1 846, this church then had 260 members. Within the suc- 
ceeding five years, up to September, 1851, the church has re- 
ceived forty-nine by baptism, and dismissed 123, by letter, 
to other churches, many of the latter having united with the 
newly formed church at Walesville. Present number of 
communicants 154. 

The church during the first half century of its existence 
had six pastors, viz: Elders Parsons, Douglass, Galusha. Co- 
vill, Sheldon and Cole. They were all good men, with rep- 
utations unblemished, and of exemplary lives. Three of them 
have completed their labors upon earth, viz : Elders Parsons, 
Douglass and Covill, while the remaining three are yet ac- 
tively engaged in the ministry. The church has been great- 
ly blessed in her pastors. It has had also, for short periods, 
the services of Elijah F. Willey, Eleazar Savage, Calvin (j. 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 817 

Oarpenter, Demas Robinson and some others. The church 
•has received by baptism the following persons, who have en- 
tered the ministry, viz : Elders Douglass, Lathrop, Howard, 
Uarpenter, Bronson, Curtiss, Kingsley and Gross. Rev. 
Miles Bronson, a member of this church, has been for many 
years past a missionary in Burmah. Probably there are 
few churches which have enjoyed more uninterrupted pros- 
perity for fifty years ; few that have enjoyed more " refresh- 
ings from the presence of the Lord ;" few that have been as 
free from unhappy divisions and discord. It has sent out 
into the world a lai'ge representation, (626 having been dis- 
missed by letter), a goodly number who have gone to aid in 
the formation of other churches, and to labor for the promo- 
tion of the kingdom of the Redeemer. Of fifty years, there 
^verc but seven in which the church was not enlarged by ac- 
cessions upon profession of faith and baptism. 

The house of worship now occupied by the church and .so- 
ciety is the third erected upon the same ground. The first 
was removed and converted into a dwelling, because too large ; 
the second was removed and formed into a store, because too 
small ; the third now occupied is a neat and comfortable house 
'>f worship, sufiiciently large for the necessities of the society. 
Of a truth the site is a place where prayer has been wont to 
be made from the beginning. 

In view of the history of the church its friends may well 
say with adoring gratitude, ''what hath God wrought." 

St. Pcicr's [Episco2)al) Cliurch, Oriskany. — The Rev. Wil- 
liam A. Matson, missionary. There are forty families con- 
nected with this church, and thirty-five communicants. The 
date of its formation has not been ascertained, still it is known 
to be among the oldest and influential societies of the denom- 
ination in the county. 

52 



MS ANNALS O'F ONKIDA COUNTY. [ciIAF, 

iSt. Johns [Episcopal) C/iwrc'A, Whiteatown. lias also the 
services of the Rev. William A. Matson, missionary. This 
tody is comparatively in its infancy, having been organized 
but about ten years. It has a congregation of twenty-five 
families, and numbers twenty-two communicants. 

Walesville Baplist Church. — Within the year 1S5G, a 
Baptist church was constituted at Walesville, in WhitestowD, 
and Peckvilie (in Westmoreland). It has erected a small 
but neat house for public worship, equi-di.'stant between those 
two villages. It stands on the east side of the Oriskany 
Creek, within the limits of Whitestown. In September, 1851, 
this church reported Elder John M. ShotwcU as its pastor. 
and forty-nine communicants. 

There is a large and respectable society of Ejnscopal Meth- 
odists in the village of New York Mills. They have a cora 
modious house for public worship, and have exerted a wide- 
spread and healthful influence ever since the commencement 
of the flourishing village where the society is located. 

There is » smaller society of Methodists with a, house for 
worship, located in the westerly part of the town, near Col- 
man's Mills. It is a part of the charge of the clergymen lo- 
cated at Westmoreland. 

As will be seen, by reference io the iatroduciory chapter, 
ia 1784, at the time of the arrival of Judge White, Mor.t 
gomery County included all of this State west of Albany Co. ; 
and that by the law of 1758, dividing the town of German 
Flats, and forming Whitestown as one of the towns of Mont- 
(Tomery County, this town was bounded on the east by a line 
crossing the Mohawk River, " at the fording place near, and 



XXIX.J WniTESTOWN. SI;) 

the cast aide of the house of William Cuauiagham,'" andrun- 
uinsi' north and south to the north and south bounds of the 
State, and including ail of the State west of that line. Wil- 
liam Cunningham's house stood nearly upon the site of the 
store of Stephen Comstock, upon the west side of Grenesec 
St., and about equi-distant from Whitesboro and Water Sts. 
It can not at this time be ascertained with precision how 
many white inhabitants were within the town at the time of 
its organization, but the number has generally been estima- 
ted at less than 200. The obituary notice of Judge White, 
published in Spaff'ocd'^ Gazetteer o{ '^ew York for IS 13. 
says, '' Whitestown then (178S) contained lees than 200 in- 
habitants," a territory, which " according to the census of 
ISIO. now contains 280.319 inhabitants." 

In the winter of the year previously (1787), there were but 
seven houses within the present limits of Whitestown. five at 
E,ome, three at Oriskany, three at Utica and three in We.st- 
moreland, all log cabins, small and cheaply constructed 
Neither can the population of the original territory of Whites- 
town, when formed, be ascertained from the census of 1850, as 
the before mentioned east line intersects several counties,, and 
u, portion even of the present territory of Oneida County lies 
east of it — but the author believes his estimate within bound.s 
when iie places it at 1,400,000. This is rather a formidable 
population of a township of but about sixty years' growth. In 
the fir.st years of its settlement its location was any thing but 
inviting, and none but Yankees would have sought here quiet 
homes for themselves and families. In the common lancuace 
of those in New England who had children or friends settled 
here '-they had gone way up among the Indians, in the 
Whitestown country, ' and but a few years later the Dutch 
and the '' dimocrats '■' of York State were bugbears, almost as 
formidable and equally as wicked as the "heathen insins,'^ 



826 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

The author well knew a good woman (for she was his mother), 
who, after a residence of several years in this section, returned 
to her native place in Connecticut, to visit her aged mother. 
The aged woman, among other objections to a residence in this 
state, stated to the daughter that there were, as she was told, 
" many democrats up in York State, and she did'nt see how 
a democrat could ever go to heaven." 

The first town meeting in Whitestown was held at the 
barn of Needham Maynard, Esq., upon the road leading from 
Whitesboro to Middle Settlement. 

The eastern limits of Whitestown remained the same until 
the formation of Oneida County, in 1 798, when they wei-c ex- 
tended eastwardly some two miles to the present eastern boun- 
dary of the city of Utica, upon the Herkimer County line. 

Whitestown has been a half-shire town of Oneida County 
since May, 1802, the county courts having previously been 
held at Rome, During 1802, they were held at W^hitestown. 
and subsequently the terms (three in each year, in May, Sep- 
tember and December), were held alternately at the two places, 
beginning at Whitestown in May, 1803. In the minutes of 
the December term of the common pleas for 1801, it appears 
that the court were then informed by C. C. Brodhead, Esq., 
sheriff, that the jail in Whitestown had been completed, and 
that the prisoners from this county had been removed from 
the Herkimer jail to the new jail, and an order was accor- 
dingly entered that the next term of the court be held " at 
the school house near the jail in Whitestown." By an act 
passed April 2, 1806, the board of supervisors was author- 
ized to raise $4,000, to build two court houses, one at Rom<- 
and one at Whitesboro, and they were soon afterwards erect- 
ed. As previously stated, the first term of a court of record 
ever held within the limits of the county, was held in tlu- 
meeting house in New Hartford (then Whitestown), on tlic 



XXIX.] WniTESTOWN. 82 1 

third Tuesday (21st) of January, 1794. Present, Henry 
Staring, Jedediali Sanger, Wm. Eeeter and Amos Wetmoro, 
judges and justices. William Colbrath, sheriff. 

Judge Staring continued in office until after the erection 
■■A' Oneida County, but soon after resigned. 

As would have been more appropriately stated upon the 
preceding page in the history of the Presbyterian Church, 
the settlement of Whitesboro had become so well established, 
that in 17S6, the inhabitants had formed a religious society. 
This was in accordance with the sentiments and usages of the 
pilgrims. This society employed the Rev. Dr. Hillyer of 
Orange, New Jersey, as its pastor and spiritual guide. 

Yery soon in the history of Whitestown and the-other por- 
tions of the county settled by emigrants from New England, 
these ambitious, energetic and persevering Yankees began 
to exert an influence and acquire a controlling power over 
the less active inhabitants residing lawer down the Mohawk. 
The author has not learned, that these Yankees held any of 
the prominent offices while Whitestown was a part of Mont- 
gomery County, but as soon as Herkimer County was organ- 
ized, they seem to have claimed, and in some way taken the 
•• lion's share," and this is not here mentioned boastiugly or 
approvingly, but as historic truth. The few scattered set- 
tlers liable were warned to " appear armed and equipped as 
the law directs for military duty " at Herkimer, and for two 
or three years, and those only, were they kept by the Dutch- 
men at the left of the company. Soon, however, they claim- 
ed and took, whether in the minority or majority, the righl 
of the company and regiment, and with it a good share of 
the offices. This illustrates the spirit which characterized 
the first settlers of Oneida County, and also the difference 
between them and their seniors upon the Mohawk. And if 
the Yankees took the lead of the Dutch, the settlers of 



»22 AKNALS or ONEIDA COUNTY. ['CHAF. 

Whitestown took the lead of their brethren in Paris, West- 
moi-eland, Kome, Floyd, Sangerfield and Steuben, and in thi? 
their talents, wealth and circumstances favored them. Upon 
the organization of Herkimer County in 1791, Jonas Piatt 
of Whitestown, was appointed clerk, and soon after, Judge 
White was appointed county judge, and previously to 1794. 
Jcdediah Sanger vras appointed a judge. In 1794 (and may 
be earlier), Arthur Breese was deputy clerk, and to most in- 
tents and purposes, the clerk's office was kept in Whitesboro 
instead of Herkimer. In 1794 and '95, Jedediah Sanger 
was sole member of Assembly from Herkimer County. In 
1796, Jedediah Sanger, and in 1798, Thomas 11. Gold, vrert- 
elected senators for four years, and in 1797, Messrs. Isaac 
Brayton, Arthur Breese and Henry McNiel were members 
of Assembly. In the winter of 1798, before Oneida County 
v/as organized, Jedediah Sanger and Hugh White were 
judges; Jonas Piatt, clerk; William Colbrath, sheriff ; and 
Henry McNiel und Nathan Smith, members of Assembly, of 
Herkimer County. In 1794, Amos Wetmore, Needhani 
3[aynard and Elizur Moseley of Whitestown ; Alexander 
Parkraan and Ephraim Blackmer,, of Westmoreland; Moses 
Foot and David Ostrom, of Paris ; Ebeuezer Wright and 
Jedediah Phelps, of Steuben ; and Edward Paine, Seth 
Phelps, Samuel Sizer and probably some others within the 
present limits of Oneida County, were assistant justices and 
justices of the peace. There were doubtless other offices held 
by Yankees, while this section was in Herkimer County. 

Upon the organization of Oneida County in 1798, Jededi- 
ah Sanger, Hugh White and David Ostrom were appointed 
judges; William Colbrath, sheriff; Jonas Piatt, Clerk: 
Thomas 11. Gold, district attorney; Arthur Breese, surro- 
gate ; Messrs. Sanger and Gold were senators ; David Ostrom 
and Henry McNiel, were elected members of Assembly ; (di 



XSiX.] WHiTESTOWX. 823 

of whom resided in Whitestown : while James Dean of West- 
moreland and George Huntington of Rome, judges, and Abel 
French, member of Assembly, were the only recipients of the 
spoils in other sections of the county. Many of these retain- 
ed their offices for considerable periods [vide lists of judges, 
clerks, attorneys, etc). James Cochran (mentioned ift his- 
tory of Utica) was member of Congress, from this district in 
1798; CoL Benjamin Walker, in 1800; Thomas 11. Gold, 
1804; Wm. Kirkpatrick, 1806; Nathan Williams, 180S; 
Thomas R. Gold, 1810, '12 ; Morris S. Miller, 1814 ; Henry 
R. Stoors, 1816, '18 and '24; Joseph Kirkland, 1822. 
Judge Sanger was elected senator from this district in 1 800 ; 
Henry Huntington, in 1804; Wm. Floyd, 1807; Francis A. 
Bloodgood, in 1808. '12 ; Jonas Piatt, in 1809 ; Henry Sey- 
mour, in 1815; Ephraim Hart, in 18 16 and 1820; besides 
from one to half a dozen others in each year as vacancies 
occurred, from other sections of this, then the great western 
••enate district. In 1800, T. R. Gold was chosen a meirtber 
of the Council of Appointment. 

From the Wcste^-n '• Centincl^'' published at "Whitestown, ' 
of September, 1795, the following Whitestown advertisements 
are taken, showing the business men, and the kinds of trade 
and business carried on at that early day : '-Kyte & Stark- 
weather will pay the cash for any quantity of good clean 
Salts of Lye. Whitestown, Aug. 31, 1795." Thomas R. 
Gold oifers for sale 7 lots in the Military Tract, 6 J- lots in 
the '•4th Town of the 20 Townships," and "9,180 acres in 
the 7th Township, 4th Range, Genesee." " To be let, a 
Farm upon Bowen's Creek, near Esqr. Sayle's, in German- 
town. Enquire of Wm. Green." '• Save your Flax Seed! 
An Oil Mill will, without doubt, be erected In the course of a 
few months, if duly encouraged by the several gentlemen in 
the vicinity of Whitestown, who it may benefit." '■ For Sale^ 



324 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

tlie JDwclling-Housc and Farm, situate on the JN'ew Genesee 
Koad in Whitestown. lately occupied by Enoch Grannis. 
being an excellent stand for a Tavern and Store. Enquire 
of T. R. Gold, Att'y, or Thomas Jenkins & Sons." 
'•• Wanted a good faithfiil Man to attend a Saw Mill on 
Oriskany Creek. Apply to the Subscriber at Col. D. C 
White's, in Whitestown. Wm. Green." "John Eussell. 
AVindsor Chair Maker, has established his business a few 
rods west of the Meeting House in Whitestown." '• Wanted 
Immediately, an active Boy, as an Apprentice to the Tatf- 
loring Business. Joseph Blake." " To be Sold, a Farm in 
Whitestown, lying on the great road leading from Old Fort 
Schuyler to the Genesee River, containing 100 acres, 40 
acres improved, and Framed House and Barn. Jed'h San- 
ger." Boardman & Dewey occupy nearly a column with an 
invoice of their Stock in Trade, among which are <" Cloths, 
Cassimers, Yorkshire Plains, Thicksets, Shalloons, Durants. 
Plain Black Calimanco, Striped Bo., Black Russell, Tabor- 
ctts. Bandanno Hdkfs., Black Mode, Wildbore, Rattinctts. 
jNIcn's and Women's Buckles," &e. &c. ; among articles for 
male and female wearing apparel, and among the miscellanies 
arc " Brass JVubs, Raizors, Iron Dogs, Franklin Stoves. 
Hard Soap, Drawn Boot Legs, Felt Hats, W. I. Rum, Rub- 
.''tones. Bibles, Spelling Books," &c. &c. ; and they announce 
to '• their customers in general, that they have removed their 
Store from the house of Mr. Caleb Douglass to their new 
Store at a place formerly known as Pool's Landing," and 
that they '-will receive in payment Wheat, Rye, or Barley : 
Money will not be refused. Whitestown, July 27, 1795." 
'• Webster^s Spelling Book for sale at the Printing Office." 
'• Falling Mill. Notice is hereby given to the Public, that 
the Subscriber is about to erect a F idling Mill in the town 
of Scipio, and cc'unty of Onondaga, where he designs to 



XXIX.] WIIITESTOWN. 825 

carry on the Clothier's Business in all its various branches, 
by a well-informed workman in said business. &c. Amaziah 
Hutchinson." 



Salt. — The information contained in the following extracts 
from the journal of the Committee of Safety of this State in 
the Revolution, was new to the author, and is believed to 
possess interest sufficient to warrant its publication; but this 
is all that he has learned respecting the subject. It is found 
under date of Februai*y 7, 1777. 

The committee appointed to devise ways and means for 
manufacturing salt within the state, produced a sample of 
salt "made of the water of certain springs at Oriskie (Oris- 
kany), about ten miles to the eastward of Fort Schuyler 
(Stanwix), and reported that from information, it appears to 
the committee that nine gallons of water will make two 
quarts of salt." 

^^ Resolved, that said committee devise ways and means to 
make farther experiments, in order to ascertain the quality 
of said water at Oriskie, and if they are of the opinion that 
salt can be manufactured with advantage, that they proceed, 
without delay, to procure m-aterials and employ proper per- 
sons to carry on the same." 



MANUFACTURES. 



JVetv York Mills. — The " upper mills " of this company be- 
ing in the town of New Hartford are noticed in the history 
of that town. 



826 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAV. 

The ?n'io York Mills, for the manufacture of cotton goods, 
naay well be reckoned as among the pattern factories of the 
Empire State. The manufacturing is carried on in two large 
stone buildings, to which are attached a machine shop, offices, 
shops, store, out-buildings, all in the most neat and complete 
order. System is manifest in its every department. Twen- 
ty-five thousand yards of 4-4 supei-fine sheetings are manu- 
factured weekly. It employs 325 operatives in and about tht 
premises. Forty bales of cotton of 430 lbs. each are used 
weekly. About $ 1,2.50 are paid in that time for labor. It 
gives employ to twelve machinists. Machinery of the latest 
and most perfect models is constantly taking the place of that 
which perhaps but a few years before was considered at the 
height of perfection. 

The Oneida Fiirtonj. — This mill is a large substantial 
stone building with office, shops, boarding houses, etc., con- 
nected.. It manufactures 20,000 yards of 4-4ths sheetings 
per week, with 160 operatives, and pays ^350 weekly for 
labor. 



Villages. — Whiicsloro has one of the handsomest loca- 
tions in the county. It is a level plain of sand and gravel, 
elevated a few feet above the Mohawk Flats adjoining. Th(- 
village contains a" considerable number of handsome dwellings. 
three taverns, two dry goods stores, two grocery and fvo- 
vision stores, the Whitestown post office, the bank of Whites- 
town, Presbyterian. Baptist and Congregational houses for 
worship, and various mechanics. Although situated upon 
the Erie Canal and Syracuse and Utica Rail-road, its loca- 
tion but four miles from the city of Utica, is at this day an 
unfortunate one. For a considerable number of years fron/ 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. 827 

its commencement, it was ahead of Utica in population and 
business ; but while its neighbor has become a city, Whites- 
boro has for the last twentj-five years but sustained its pre- 
vious size. The conrt-house, although it is still nominally 
the half-shire of the county, is not now used for courts, and 
as a court-house and jail are now in the course of erection at 
Utica, thecourt-house and jail at this place will soon be useless 
as such. The inhabitants early bethought themselves to orna- 
ment their streets with elms and other forest trees, which 
have now become large and almost venerable iu their appear- 
ance, and add greatly to the beauty of the place. It is a 
quiet, lovely village, and no more desirable place for a vil- 
lage residence can be found in the county. The denomina- 
tions having houses for worship, have ever sustained excel- 
lent pastors. Just below the village is what was formerly 
the " Oneida Institute " of Science and Industry, under the 
patronage of the Presbyterians ; but an unfortunate abolition 
difficulty arose, and the institution which had flourished for 
a time, declined, and at length was purchased by the Free- 
will Baptists, who have now a very flourishing and valuable 
school. The institution occupies three large commodious 
buildings of wood, with a small farm attached. There is 
also in the village an academy in a fair condition. Few 
places of the size can be found which could boast of such an 
»rray of men of talent as Whitesboro, the most conspicuous 
of whom were Jonas Piatt, Thomas 11. G-old, Theodore Sill 
Ilenx-y Pi.. Storrs, Fortune C. White, and, for a short time, 
Samuel A. Talcott. These were prominent names not only 
in central New York, but throughout the state, and a portion 
of them were not unknown to fame in our national legislature. 

Neio York Mills. — It is but little more than a quarter of 
a century since the plat oi this village was used for agricul- 



828 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

tural purposes. The erection b-y Benjamin Marshall, an 
English capitalist, of the extensive cotton manufacturing 
•establishment, known as the New York Mills, gave the first 
impulse to the place. It now contains between 1,500 and 
2,000 inhabitants. It contains Methodist and Presbyterian 
houses for worship. Although manufacturing of cotton is the 
great business of the village, still it has a full share of mer- 
chants and mechanics, and a temperance tavern. The statistics 
of these mills are given in another place. New Yoi'k Mills 
])Ost-office is located here. 

YorlcviUc is a small village hardly separated from the New 
York Mills Village, except by the Oneida Factory, and the 
dwellings and other buildings attached to it. Here are a 
public house, a grist and flouring mill and a saw mill. 

Oriskany. — This village is situate at the confluence of the 
Oriskany Creek and Mohawk River. This was one of the 
earliest settled places in the county, and probably contained 
the first merchant ever located in it. That merchant was 
the late Abraham Van Eps, who is more particularly noted 
in the history of Vernon, and ^Yho established a small 
trading house at this place in the spring of 1785 : and from 
information recently obtained, it seems, as previously stated 
in this chapter, that Mr. Webster established here a depot 
for Indian goods at even an earlier period. This is now u 
place of considerable business. There are here two respect- 
able houses for public worship. Episcopalian and Presbyte- 
rian, the Oriskany post-oflice, and a fair mercantile and me- 
chanical business is carried on, but the most important 
bi'anch of business is its manufactory of woolen goods. A 
brief account of its operations subjoined, was kindly fur- 
nished by S. Newton Dexter, Esq., its enterprising agent. 



XXJX.] WniTESTOWN. 829 

At this place, the brave Gen. Herkimer eucaraped, with 
his little band of heroes, on the night previous to the Oris- 
kany battle. 

During the enlargement of the Erie Canal, a large quan- 
tity of human bones have been exhumed, which, no doubt, 
from the ornaments found with them, were of aboriginal 
origin. The following, from the Oneida Morning Herald. 
o-ives some account of those remains. 



DISCOVERY OF ABORIGINAL REMAINS AT OKISKANY. 

'■ Oriskany, October 27, 1840. 
'• MEssRfj. Editors : — In excavating for the enlarged canal, we have 
discovered some ten or more skeletons of the Aborigines; and with 
them not a few ornaments and medals. The remains are very much 
decayed, and exhibit evidence of having been interred a very lone; 
time. The bodies appear to have been placed in troughs, prepared 
in the Indian mode of forming canoes ; that is, by burning a log to •?. 
flat surface, and then keeping the fire in the centre from the cavity. 
Faint traces of wood at the sit^es of the skeletons and also coals seem 
to warrant the correctness of my suggestion. I have assisted in re- 
moving a number of them, and found in two instances three or four 
bodies placed heads together, and the limbs radiating from a centre. 
We found three, a man, woman, and child. The head of the woman 
lying between the man's arm and side near the shoulder, and the 
•child's head apparently on her bosorn. The man with a portion of 
the contents of his medicine bag, consisting of the bones of a bird or 
animal, uniformly of a bright green color, well polished and wound 
with bark or skin to protect the Indian beauty and semi-transparency. 
The woman's ornaments, consisting o;f beads about the size of peas, 
and variously colored, some of them still retaining the sinew on whicji 
they were strung. Together with these I found a rosary of beads, aji- 
parently of ebony, about half an inch in diameter, though so frail as 
to fall into dust on the slightest pressure. These were strung on a 
brass chain, some of the links still being in tlac beads. Among these, 
and probably attached to the rosary, was a medal of the reign of 
George the Ist, 1731. Several medals have been found with dates 



830 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

17ol to '3G, and one with, I think, a Spanish inscription. I have one 
handsome medallion head of George the King of England on one side ; 
on the other, an Indian shooting a buck with a bow and arrow from 
behind a tree. There is no date on it. It is about the size of a dollar. 
The ear and nose ornaments are made of the celebrated, red pipe- 
stone. Some pipes have bsen found, one splendid one, speaking In- 
dian-wise, and no small potatoes any laise. I think it equal to any iu 
^Ir. Catlin's Gallery. The remains of one Indian have been found in 
this vicinity with portions of a blanket, which together with the hair 
seemed quite sound, though the skeleton was a good deal decom- 
posed, yet not appearing as old as those I have been describing. I 
have spuu.the yarn long enough. '■ Krogan Rex.'' 



The Orlslcany Manufaciuririg Company was incorporated 
in 1811. and is believed to be the oldest woolen manufacturing 
fompany now in being in the United States. The capital is 
$1 10.000, which has been all paid in, and is divided into 2000 
shares of $55 each. The buildings are situated in the village 
of Oriskany, upon the margin of the Erie Canal. This com.- 
pany have eight set of cards, and a proportionate number of 
spindles and looms, and manufacture about 100.000 yards of 
6-4 goods, broadcloths and tweeds annually, and consume 
about 200.000 pounds of wool in the manufacture of these 
goods. The company employ about 120 hands. This com- 
pany has been kept constantly in operation since its com- 
mencement, although often subjected to great losses from the 
precarious nature of the business. 

At the time of the incorporation of this company, oar dif- 
ficulties with trreat Bi'itainhad assumed a threatening aspect, 
and a number of the prominent public men of that day were 
induced, from truly patriotic motives, to embark in the busi- 
ness of manufacturing woolen goods, in the hope of doing 
something to render their country independent of England 
for a supply of clothing. The most prominent gentlemen 



XXIX.] WHITESTOWN. SSI 

engaged in first starting this company were Setli Capron, 
Jonas Piatt, Thomas 11. Gold, Newton Mann, Theodore Sil), 
Nathan Williams, William Cf. Tracy, DeW^itt Clinton, Am- 
brose Spencer, John Taylor and Stephen Van Rensselaer 
The satinetts made by this company sold readily at $4.00 per 
yard, and their broad cloths from $10,00 to $12,0(> per yard, 
))Ut to counterbalance these prices, for the first four years 
after they commenced operations, they paid an average of 
$1,12 per pound for their wool. 

The company now pay out about $500 weekly for labor. 

Thr Dexter Manvfacturhig Comptviy is situated on the 
Oriskany Creek in the town of Whitestown, and village of 
Pleasant Valley. It commenced operations in 1832, under 
what is called the general act for incorporating manufactur- 
ing companies, passed in 1811. It has a nominal capital of 
$ 1 00,000, divided into 1 000 shares of $ 1 00 each. The main 
buildings are of brick and stone, and the factory is 200 feet 
long, there are seven sets of cards, and a proportionate num- 
ber of spindles and looms. This company maaufactare beau- 
tiful long shawls, broad cloths and tweeds, and consume 
about 175,000 pounds of wool annually; and employ about 
110 persons in the various branches of its business. The 
company has gone steadily on since it commenced, and with 
varied success. The company pay out about $430 weekly 
for labor. 

The Whkestaicn Manvfacturing Company is situated in 
the village of Walesville in the town of Whitestown, has a 
capital of $12,000, and is carried by the waters of the Oris- 
kany Creek. It manufactures tweeds and flannels, and con- 
sumes about 45.000 pounds of wool annually, and employs 
about seventy-eight person's. 



832 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Since the histories of Bridgewater and Kirkland were in 
type, the venerable men named in the following obituary no- 
tices have deceased and therefore they have a place here. 

■•'Another Rkvolutionary Soldier Gone. — Died on the 28tli of 
.Tuly, 1851, in Kirkland, NoaiiClark, in his 88th year. Mr. Clark 
was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was at Yorktown at thf 
surrender of Lord Cornwallis. He had resided in this county about 
61 years, andlivedtosee a family of six children grow up to maturity 
about him. His wife died last February, since which time the old gen- 
tleman has gradually tailed, till at last death released him from a life, 
which age and painful infirmities had rendered hardly desirable. 

" Three of his sons are the proprietors of the extensive cotton facto- 
ries in Kirkland, known as Clatk's Mills." 

=' Still Another Revolutionary Soldier Gone.— Died, at hi" 
residence in Bridgewater, on Friday, July 18, 1851, Abraham Mo.vroe. 
Hged 92. Mr. Monroe, at the early age of 16, enlisted into the Ameri- 
ean army, and was a soldier under Gen. Gates, at the surrender of Bur- 
goyne. He was a native of New Hampshire, and removed to Bridge- 
Water while it wiis a wilderness, and was one of the pioneers in its set- 
tlement. Fortunate in securing one of the finest locations in this re- 
gion, Mr. M. had the sagacity to be content with his first choipe, and 
remained upon it to the day of his death. 

" For several years past he received a pension for his Revolutionary 
r,orvices, theneeciof which he fortunately did not fee!, having by hi.'« 
temperate and industrious habits secured to himself and family a com- 
petence at an early day. He was a whig of 76, and a v.'hig of '51. Hi." 
last presidential vote was given to Gen. Taylor. Although for years 
nearly isolated from society by age and infirmities, his memory of the 
scenes and events of the Revolution remained ilnUsually distinct and 
vivid to the last. A great concourse of people testified their respect 
by attending his funeral solemnities, which were held in the Congrega- 
tional church at Cassville, on the Sabbath succeeding his deatli.'' 



[Correction. —On page 78-3, first line, for '■ 1787," read •• 1778." j 



XXX.] INDIANS. 838 



CHAPT ER XXX. 

INDIANS. 

The author had intended to give a much more extended 
notice of the aboriginal inhabitants of this part of our coun- 
try, the Six Nations, than his limits will admit of, and had 
collected many materials for that purpose. The Iroquois or 
Six Nations, called their race the On-gue Hon-we, i. e. " Men 
surpassing all others." The name " Indians " has never 
been recognized by them, but was given them by foreigners. 

Those tribes of the Ongue Honwe, known to us as the 
Five, and later as the Six Nations or Iroquois, are (or were) 
known among themselves as the Ko-nosh-i-o-ni (Schoolcraft) ; 
Ago-nea-se-ah (Macaulay) ; Ho-de-no-sau-nee (Seneca : Mor- 
gan) ; or A-ga-nus-chi-o-ni ; Let-e-nugh-sho-nee ; Gwhun-nugh- 
sho-nee or Haugh-gogh-nuch-shi-o-nee, (various authors) ; be- 
ing the same word or idea with the dialectical modifications 
incident to several tribes ; and the signification of which is 
" People of the long house," or " People of many fires." Thh 
name of the Iroquois, like our national motto, E Phiribv.: 
Unum, is beautifully significant, and refers to the union of 
the several tribes, thus forming the " Long house ; " with the 
Mohawks at the eastern, and the Senecas at the western 
doors. With the Indians the fire upon the domestic hearth 
stone was invested with a peculiar sacredness, and they look- 
ed upon their confederacy as the union of " many fires " or 
homes. 

The Powhattans called them Mas-saW-o-meeks ; the Leni 

53 



834 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTT. [CHAP. 

Lcuape (Delawarea) called tliem Meng-wee or Mingoes. By 
the Dutch and early English writers they were called Ma- 
quas, and at a later period Mohocks, and from the French 
they received the name of Iroquois, a name of more frequent 
and general use by writers of all nations, than any other. 
Until the Tuscaroras joined the confederacy they were called 
by the English the Five Nations. 

It is supposed by many that the Iroquois succeeded a 
people who were farther advanced in arts and civilization, 
who were the builders of the fortifications, mounds and other 
structures, the ruins of which are found in western New York 
and Ohio. To the latter the name of" Mound Builders'' 
has been very confidently applied by certain learned ininditH 
of the country who have, in connection with their Scandinar 
vian researches, given the subject some attention. 

The origin of the Iroquois is unknown, and probably will 
ever remain so, as all that we really know of their history 
prior to the discovery of America has been gleaned from tra- 
ditions current among them. According to early writers it 
was believed that they emigrated from the country around 
Montreal, that they were dependents of the Algonquins, but 
becoming troublesome to their masters, the latter drove them 
from the country, but they finally conquered their masters 
and destroyed their power. David Cusick, the Tuscarora 
historian, has written out a tradition as to their origin, which 
was formerly current among all the tribes, and which was 
probably founded in truth. According to this, the Holder ot 
the Heavens took the Indians out of a hill near the Oswego 
Fails, and leading to and down the Mohawk and Hudsoii 
Rivers to the sea. There they became scattered, but their 
great Leader brought six families baok to the vicinity of the 
janction of the Hudson and Mohawk, and then proceeding 
westerly he planted the Five Nations, the Mohawks, Onei- 



XXX.] INDIANS. 8(85\ 

das, Onondagas, Scnccas and Cayugas. by leaving a family 
at the location of each, giving them names and slightly chaa-' 
ging their language. With the sixth family he proceeded on 
" between mid-day and sun-setting " to the Mississippi Pviver, 
which part of them crossed upon a grape vine, but the vine 
breaking, those on this side travelled easterly to the neigh- 
borhood of the ocean, and settled upon the Neuse River in 
North Carolina. This last was the Tuscarora tribe. The 
tradition is highly poetical, and in some respects beautiful,, 
but is too highly colored with supernatural manifestations to 
be fully and easily understood. 

As to the population of the Iroquois in earlier times, wo 
liave no certain data, but their numbers were doubtless much 
over-rated. In 1677, they were estimated at 2,150 warriors, 
or 10.750 souls ; in 1756, at 1.200 warriors, or 6,000 souls; in 
1760, at 7,500 souls: in 1764, at 7,750. In 1776, it was es- 
timated that 1.580 warriors took sides with the British, and 
■^30 were friendly to the Americans, which at the same ratio 
us above, would give 9.050 souls. According to a census ta- 
ken in 1845 (under a law of this state) of those residing 
within this state, with estimates and data as to those of the 
Six Nations residing out of this state, they then included 
6.942 souls, of whom 4.836 were within the limits of the 
I'nited States, and 3.643 were v.'ithin this state. Of the 
latter number were 2,441 Senecas, 393 Onondagas and 281 
Tuscaroras, being the three tribes which had then remained 
wliole : also 210 Oneidas, 123 Cayugas, 20 Mohawks and 
260 St. Regis, etc. The St. Regis tribe was composed orig- 
inally of those members of the other tribes who embraced 
the Catholic faith and under the influence of the French re- 
moved to the borders of Canada, and their land is now inter- 
sected by the Canada line. Of those out of the state there 
were (in 1812) 722 Oneidas at Green Bay, about 2000 



836 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

Mohawks and Cayugas in Canada, a few upon the Alleghany 
River in Pennsylvania, and some scattered in the far west. 
The main body of the Oneidas, a few Tuscaroras, and one or 
two of the St Regis tribe took sides with the Americans in 
the revolution. Col. Louis of St. Regis rendered the Amer- 
icans efl&cient service at Fort Stanwix and elsewhere. All 
the others of the Six Nations joined the British, and became 
the scourge of the frontiers of the Mohawk. Hudson and 
Pennsylvania. 

The Iroquois confederacy was probably at the heighth of 
its power when the Dutch commenced their settlements upon 
the Hudson about 1610, and retained their ascendancy, with 
little diminution, down to the close of the last "old French 
war," or about 1760. The Five Nations, by their energy and 
valor, their eloquence in council and skill in diplomacy, be- 
came the most powerful people in central North America. 
They carried their arms to the Straits of St. Mary's, to the 
foot of Lake Superior, and under the walls of Quebec, where 
they defeated the Hurons under the eyes of the French ; they 
annihilated the Eries, the Gahquas and the Susquehannocks, 
and the Munsees ; they put the Manhattans and the Metoacks 
they subjected the Leni Lenapes (Delawares), the Nanticokes 
under tribute, they spread terror and destruction over New 
England, they crossed the Appalachian chain, and descended 
like furies upon the Cherokees and Catawbas. Capt. Smith 
encountered their warriors in Virginia, and La Salle saw 
them upon the banks of the Illinois. " Nations trembled 
when they heard the name of the Konoskioni." 



According to the before-mentioned tradition, as to the ori- 
gin of the Six Nations, as recorded by Cusick, after planting 



XXX. ] INDIANS 8.37 

the Mohawks, the "company journeyed westward two days and 
a half, and came to a creek called Kaw-na-taw-ta-ruh,i. e. " Pine 
woods." (This creek, according to Cusick, is a branch of the 
Susquehannah, having its head in Col. Allen's lake ten miles 
miles south of Oneida Castle.) The second family were di- 
rected to take up their residence near that creek, and they 
were named Ne-haw-ve-tah-go, i. e. "Big tree" (the Oneidas), 
and their language was changed." In conclusion, he says " but 
the six families did not go so far as to lose the understanding 
of each other's language." 

The history of the Oneidas, from the settlement of this 
country by Europeans to the commencement of the revolu- 
tionary contest, is similar to, and inseparably interwoven with 
that of their confederates. Prior to the conquest of Canada, 
the French left no means untried to induce them to connect 
their interests with theirs, to seduce them from the interests 
of the Dutch and English, to acquire a foothold upon and 
dominion over their territory, and to secure their trade. The 
Six Nations, when left to act independently, ever acknow- 
edged themselves as the allies of, and as owing allegiance to 
the Dutch and afterwards the English, and that allegiance 
was constantly strengthened by new treaties and promises on 
one side, and by protection and presents on the other. 

The Jesuit missionaries were a ready and powerful means 
used by the French to acquire an influence over the In- 
dians, and a constant source of trouble and anxiety to the 
English. As early as September 1667, a Jesuit missioa 
was established at Oneida by Father Jacques Bruyas. It 
was named St. Francis Xavier. The Oneidas, as well as 
all the other tiibes of the Five Nations, had been visited 
by the Jesuits for about twenty-five years previously, but 
their main labors had been performed at Onondaga, where 
were at various periods extensive mission establishments. 



853 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [uHA?- 

The Mohawks and Oneidas were called by early French wri- 
tors, the inferior^ and the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas 
the superior Iroquois, probably on account of their location, 
but there was a tradition that the former had been an off-shoot 
from the latter. The Jesuit relations (Journals.) for 1668-9^ 
speaking of the Oneidas say, " the Nation of Oneida is about 
thirty leagues towards the south and west from the Mohawks 
and 140 from Quebec ; are of all the Iroquois the least tract- 
able, and the arms of the French not yet having penetrated 
so far, they fear us only thrdugli the experience of their neigh- 
bors the 3Iohawks. This nation (Oneidas), which despises 
(lie others since their defeat, is in a disposition contrary to the 
Christian faith, and by its arrogance and pride, tries the pa- 
tience of a missionary very sorely. It was necessai'y that 
Divine Providence siiould assign them a peculiar man, and 
choose for them a spirit who might by his mildness conquer 
or allay their wild and fierce disposition. Father Bruyas has 
been the man destined for their service, but his labors have 
generally been rewarded only by rebuffs and contempt. * * * 
The number of baptized amounts already to near thirty, most 
of whom are already in glory." This gives us an insight into 
tlie distinctive features of the Oneida character at that peri- 
od. From 1G71 to "90 Father Millet labored at Oneida, and 
the mission was represented as flourishing, but these missions 
among the Iroquois began to decline about the year 1700. 
The English forbid the French to visit the Indians, and 
those among them, missionaries and traders, were ordered 
out of their tei'ritory. The history of the Jesuit missions 
among the Iroquois, would form a volume of great interest. 

Some thirty or forty years since, the remains of three per- 
sons were brought to light by the overturning of a tree upon 
the hill near Hamilton College. The middle one was buried 
v.'ith his head in an opposite direction from the other two. 



XXX.] INDIANS. ?3 3 

and upon his breast was found a small metal cross. From a 
well known custom among Catholics, this individual was 
doubtless a priest, but who. or when, or how he die4 is left for 
conjecture. 

Schoolcraft, in his '• Notes on the Iroquois." says that lie rc- 
<{uested several Oneidas to pronounce their name, or vrhat is 
nearly synonymous, the name of the Oneida stone — wliiclt 
they did as follows : 0-ni-o4a-aug ; 0-7ie-u-ta-aug ; 0-ne-yu- 
ta-aiig. " The terminal syllable avg seems to be a local par- 
ticle," giving the word a definite meaning, as tlie stone, thus 
distinguishing the ancient monument of the Oneidas from all 
other stones. The syllable ta carries the idea of life and 
with 0-nia a stone, the whole word means " People of the 
Stone " — aftd with that poetic fancy which characterizes the 
Iroquois, the name is applied indiscriminately to the Onei- 
das and T](C granite bowlder. May be, they fancied that the 
stone bore to themselves something of the relation of tlie soul 
to the body, and was therefore a part of their being. The 
author's recollection as to the language of the Oneidas ex- 
tends back to a time when they were not tlie poor, broken 
scattered people they now are, when that language was as 
-oft and musical as the tones of a flute, instead of the rough, 
gutteral jargon of the present day. The different ways of 
pronouncing the word Oneida at present is, doubtless, correct- 
ly given. In olden time their name v/as by their orators and 
warriors pronounced 0-ne-i-ta. with the third syllable accent" 
ed, and the whole spoken in the softest manner possible. The 
aiig was in common conversation either omitted, or pronounc- 
ed so much like a mere aspiration as to be detected with dif- 
ficulty. 

Early travellers and writers speak of the Oneidas as the 
most polished, possessing the finest forms and as being the 
most prepossessing in manners and appearance of any of tlie 



S40 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

Iroquois tribes. Smith, the colonial historian, quotes from 
a letter written it 1748 by the E,ev. Mr. Spencer, a mission- 
ary among the Oneidas at Ononghquage (Oquago, formerly a 
village in the town of Windsor, Broome Co.), as follows; 
"The dialect of the Oneidas is softer than that of the other 
nations, and the reason is because they have more vowels and 
often supply the place of harsh letters with liquids." 

According to the tradition of Cusick, the Oneidas first set- 
tled upon one of the head-waters of the Susquehannah, called 
Kaw-nah-taw-te-ruh (variously spelled), about ten miles south 
of Oneida Castle. The " earliest recollected residence" of 
the Oneidas was upon the southern shore of Oneida Lake, 
near the mouth of the Oneida Creek. Here they construct- 
ed fortifications, remains of which have been found since the 
country was settled by whites. From the last named place 
the Oneidas removed to the neighborhood of the recent loca- 
tion of the Stone in the present town of Stockbridge, Madi- 
son County, to a place called Ca-nagh-ta-ragh-ga-ragh. (This 
name is, however, spelled in divers ways). From the sim- 
ilarity in names there is some reason for supposing that this 
is the location mentioned by Cusick in the tradition of the 
origin of the tribes. It is believed, that their removal to 
this place was before the formation of the Iroquois confede- 
racy. Pyrlaus, a Dutch missionary among the Mohawks at 
Fort Hunter, wrote between 1742 and '48, that the result of 
Lis best conjectures and information was that the Iroquois 
league or confederacy was formed about " one age, or the 
length of a man's life " prior to the arrival of the Dutch, in 
1609, which would fix the date at about 1530-35. The town 
of the Oneidas at this place was in a valley south of the com- 
manding eminence upon which the Stone rested, but in the 
immediate vicinity. The corn hills upon their ancient fields 
are still visible, although a new forest has grown up since 



XXX.] INDIANS. 841 

those fields were cultivated. Upon counting the rings show- 
ing the annual growth of trees in this forest, we are taken 
back to the year 1550, showing that it is over 300 years since 
the Oueidas ceased to cultivate those fields. The next re- 
move of the Oneidas was to Ca-no-tva-lo-a, the site of Onei- 
da Castle. The signification of this name is " Enemy's head 
on a pole," and it is spelled in a great variety of ways by dif- 
ferent persons, but Ca-no-wa-lo-a is believed to be correct. 
The Oneidas resided in this place in 1609, when the Dutch 
settled upon the Hudson. 

In 1677, they were visited by Wentworth Greenhalgh, 
who says in his journal : " the Onyades have but one town 
• * * it is newly settled, double stockaded, with but lit- 
tle cleared ground, so that they are forced to send to the On- 
ondagoes to buy corn. The town consists of about 100 houses, 
and they are said to have about 200 fighting men. Their 
corn grows around about the town." A report made to the 
French government in 1736, says : "the Oneidas (called by 
the French Onoyants), number 100 men or 100 warriors. 
They have for a device a stone in a fork of a tree, or in a 
tree notched with some blows of an axe." In 1763, Sir Wm. 
Johnson in a statement of the number, etc., of the Indians 
within his department says : " Oneidas : 250 men, two vil- 
lages, one twenty-five miles from Fort Stanwix, the other 
twelve miles west of Oneida Lake, with emigrants in sev- 
eral places towards the Susquehanna River." 

In the wars between England and France, and those be- 
tween the French government in Canada and the Iroquois, 
the Oneidas bore their part, and although not so renowned 
for their cruelty and savage treatment of enemies as the Mo- 
bawks, or prowess in battles as some of the other tribes, they 
were not deficient in bravery, were more cool in the midst of 
a contest, and excelled in the arts of diplomacy, and in posi- 



S42 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

tions wlicre the mental, instead of the physical powers, were 
called into action. A report to the French government of 
the affairs of New France (Canada), in 1664-5, states that 
this nation "called Oneida, which has no more, at least, than 
140 warriors, and has never wished to listen to any negotia- 
tions for peace" (with the French, being allies of England) ; 
'•on the contrary it has always embarrassed affairs when they 
appeared about to be arranged." Like all barbarians the 
Iroquois were easily influenced by promises and bountiful 
presents, and in the latter, especially those which pleased the 
fancy and tastes of the Indiansthe French were always more 
liberal than the English. The French desired to secure the 
territory and trade of the Indians, pretending that the Iro- 
quois were within the dominions of the French king, hoping 
to make good this pretence by conquest and treaties. They 
established trading houses and forts upon the southern shore 
of Lake Ontario, and sent great numbers of missionaries, 
agents, spies and traders to the Indian villages. 

On the other hand, the Iroquois annually met the Dutch 
and Jiinglish governors at Albany, '• to brighten the chain of 
friendship," to receive presents, re-acknowledge tlieir allegi- 
ance to the British. From the first the Iroquois had always 
])een in heart and in fact the allies of the Dutch, and after- 
wards of the P]nglish — together they fought against the 
French and their Indian allies and of the English they re- 
ceived arms, ammunition, food and clothing. But upon return- 
ing from those " re-unions," the Iroquois found at their homes 
the wily agents of the French, who with showy presents and 
alluring words, added to the blandishments of their military 
trappings and the imposing forms of their religion, often al- 
most turned the '• untutored minds" of the poor Indians, and 
extorted from them privileges and promises which they did not 
fully understand, which at heart they did not wish nor intend 



XXS.] INDIANS. '8'4S 

to yield or perform, and which in the end were construed to 
mean far more, instead of less, than was warranted by the 
letter. In some way these dealings with the French would 
come to the ears of the English, a new council would be called 
at Orange (Albany), or if the Indians feared or were unwilling 
to attend there, then at one of the Indian villages, and new mu- 
tual promises of friendship and allegiance were made, the de- 
signs of the French were explained and the French agents 
were ordered to leave the Indian territory under pain of 
death or a dungeon. As a result, the Indians refused tlie 
privileges, or neglected to perform the promises extorted by 
the French. The French now attempt to chastise the Iro- 
quois for their bad faith, and for that purpose marched into 
their country with a force of soldiers and Indians, burn their 
villages and strong-holds, kill their women and old men, and 
carry their warriors to Canada to be lield as hostages, or deliv- 
ered to the Indian allies as victims for torture. To revenge 
such injuries, the Iroquois, in several instances, put to death 
the Jesuit missionaries who had remained in their country. 
Previously to the French war of 1755, the Dutch and Eng- 
glish were guilty of the most blame-worthy supineness and 
negligence in not better protecting the Iroquois from the in- 
roads of the French. The foregoing is an imperfect but truth- 
ful view of the doings and policy of the Dutch and English, 
the French and the Iroquois, for a period of one hundred 
yeai'S. At times, conscious that they could gain nothing, lot 
whichever party be victorious, the English or the French, 
that continual contests were destroying their warriors and 
influence, and drawing the whites upon their territory, they 
attempted to occupy a neutral position or negotiate indepen- 
dent treaties of peace, but policy and interest forbid their be- 
ing allowed these privileges. 

In January 166G, the French dispatched a force of 500 



844 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. fCHAP. 

soldiers to chastise the Iroquois for their obstinancy in refus- 
ing to permit the missionaries to remain among them — or as 
appears from a report to the Home government, upon the 
principle that " no advantage can be expected from these na- 
tions (Iroquois), except in so far as we (French) appear able to 
injure them." This force attempted to reach the Mohawks, 
but after almost incredible hardships and sufferings retreated 
to Canada after a few slight skirmishes. At the same 
time, most of the Oneida and Mohawk warriors were absent 
upon an expedition against a distant tribe called Wampum 
Makers. 

In the following summer the Five Nations sent delegations 
to Quebec to ask for peace. The French refused to make a 
treaty until they could send a number of Frenchmen into the 
Indian country to learn what were the real motives of the 
natives in asking peace, and accordingly, a party was des- 
patched for that purpose, escorted by the Mohawks then at 
Quebec. Upon their route the party learned that several 
French soldiers had recently been attacked while hunting 
near Lake Champlain, of whom several were killed and oth- 
ers taken prisoners by a force of Mohawk warriors. Enrag- 
ed at this information, the Frenchmen immediately retraced 
their steps, and ten Oneida chiefs, who had remained at Que- 
bec, were put in irons at that place as hostages. A force of 
800 men was now detached to chastise the Mohawks for this 
last outrage, but after proceeding a short distance they met a 
party of Mohawks on their way to Quebec with the French 
prisoners, taken while hunting as above stated, and as a con- 
sequence the force again returned to Canada, A general 
peace was now '■'• pretended^^ to be made between the French 
and all the Five Nations. The French, however, believing 
that the treaty would be made more permanent by a severe 
chastisement of the Mohawks, immediately (October, 1666) 



XXX.] ' INBUNS. 845 

sent a force of 1 100 regulars, Canadians and Indians, against 
them. The Mohawks learning of their approach, fled from 
their castles, and the French wreaked their vengeance upon 
their old men, women and children, houses, cattle and corn. 

In 1684, the government of Canada determined again to 
chastise the Iroquois, for the murder of some of the missiona- 
ries, the robbing and murdering of several traders, and other 
injuries and insults to the French found in their country. 

The French had continued to send Jesuits, traders and spies 
into the Indian country, although the government of New 
York had made laws forbidding their entering the territory 
of the Iroquois, and the Iroquois had promised not to permit 
the French to remain among them. There was, however, al- 
ways a party of greater or less influence of the natives in the 
French interest. The Oneidas and Mohawks do not seem in 
this instance to have been connected with those murders and 
robberies, for being nearer the English and Dutch, it is pre- 
sumed the French did not so freely venture among them. La 
Barre. the governor of Canada, proceeded with a strong force 
for the purpose of attacking the Senecas, and after a danger- 
ous voyage landed at Hungry Bay, in JeflFerson Co., where 
his men, as he reported, encountered disease and death, priva- 
tions and sufi'ering, in their worst forms. Here the French 
remained until the arrival of a delegation of chiefs of the 
Oneidas, Onondagas and Cayugas, who had been in council 
at Onondaga, and had induced the Senecas to acknowledge 
their misdeeds and promise an amendment. A treaty of 
peace was patched up at Hungry Bay, in which the Indians 
overreached and obtained the advantage of the French. La 
Barre formed the treaty in opposition to all his officers, and 
the measure was so unpopular with the army and people of 
Canada, that he was treated with the greatest insolence and 
contempt, and he was soon afterwards recalled. The Indians 



S45 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cUAP. 

were coaxed to enter into the treaty, vrhen many of them 
were anxious for war, and this too by a General at the head 
of an invading army, before a blow had been struck. La 
liarre pretended that he had not previously known that the 
Five Nations were united in a confederacy, and that to attack 
the Senecas, was to attack the whole. The Indians had 
agreed to the treaty, to suit their own purposes, and intended 
to observe it until they chose to do otherwise, a fact apparentr 
to the whole French army, except its weak commander. The 
policy of the English at this period is plainly seen in an ex- 
tract from a report of Gov. Dongan, of New York, to the 
Board of Trade, iu 1G87. '• The Five Nations are the most 
warlike people in America, and arc a bulwark between us 
and the French, and all other Indians. They go as far as the 
south sea, the north-west passage (Mackinaw), and Florida, 
to war — and indeed they are so considerable that all the In- 
dians in these parts are tributary to them. I suifer no Chris- 
tians to converse with them any where but at Albany, and 
that not without my license.'' In a report from the Governor 
of Canada to the government of France, made in 1GS5. after 
a full description of the Iroquois, is the following: '"It is 
necessary then to examine the most certain means of destroy- 
incf and conquering their five villages, which according to the 
.ibovc estimate, may bring into the field about 2000 men 
bearing arms, and in a condition to go to war.'' For the next 
ten years ai petty war of incursions aud excursions was car- 
ried on between the French and Indians. 

In 169G, Count Frontenac. Governor of Canada, deter- 
mined to destroy the Onondagas and Oneidas. On the 27th 
of July, he lauded near Black River with a force of about 
3000 soldiers and Indians, and crossed the Oswego lliver, 
Auf^ust 1. Crossing the Onondaga Lake, they erected a forfc 
at the landing place, and then advanced towards the Onon- 



XXS.J INDIANS. 847 

daga castle. Fur several days tLey Lad seen evidences that 
the Indians were on the alert, and preparing for the invasion. 
August 3d, the army encamped at a place " called the salt 
springs, which," says the chronicler, " they truly are, and 
produce salt enough to make us wish they were near Que- 
bec.'' On the 4th the army formed in order of attack in two 
columns, with the Count carried in a chair between them, and 
advanced to th.e Onondaga village — but which, upon their ar- 
rival, they found entirely deserted. The castle surrounded' 
by a triple row of pickets,- the cabins and other buildings 
were heaps of smouldering ruins. The Indians had all fled 
into fastnesses of the forest. Immense fields of corn exten- 
ding from one to two leagues from the fort, large quantities 
of grain secreted in pits, furs and arms were destroyed bv the 
French. The next day, a Frenchman, who had been a pris- 
oner, and an Indian, arrived from Oneida with a belt of wam- 
pum, asking peace which the Count told them they could 
only have by removing to Canada, where they would be pro- 
tected upon lauds which would be given. On the Gth, a force 
of six or seven hundred men under 31. de Vaudreuil was de- 
tached to proceed to the Oneida village, where they arrived 
early on the 7th. Upon approaching their village, the Onei- 
das sent a delegation of chiefs and warriors to request the 
French commander not to march his force within their town. 
as they feared his savages would destroy their corn, promisinsi 
to comply in all things with the wishes of the Count as ex- 
pressed to their messenger sent to Onondaga. Vaudreuil 
replied, that it was useless for them to think of preservinir 
their corn, for according to the promise of their father. Count 
Frontenac, they should not want for food when they had re- 
moved to Canada, and that he should therefore destroy it all. 
and that he should also destroy their fort and houses, as 
diwellings were ready for their reception. Upon entering 



848 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

their village, (Co-nc-wa-lo-a), the French found but thirty or 
forty persons, the head chiefs and warriors of the nation, all 
the other inhabitants having fled into the forests. They also 
found four French prisoners, among whom was a young 
French woman, who had just arrived from the Mohawks, 
and who reported that 300 English and Mohawks were on 
the way to defend the Oneidas and Onondagas. A Mohawk, 
who had the previous year escaped from Canada and given 
the English and Mohawks notice of an intended attack upon 
the latter, was taken near the Oneida Village, and soon after- 
wards burned by his savage captors. Several of the Indian.? 
found in the village were sent after the fugitives with a 
hope that they would be induced to return, but without suc- 
cess. During the 8th the French and their allies remained 
in the woods near the village, expecting the approach of the 
English, but none appearing they proceeded to destroy the 
fort, houses and corn-fields of the Oneidas, and on the 9th re- 
traced their steps towards Onondaga. The French took with 
them thirty-five of the principal men of the Oneida nation, 
who were carried as captives to Canada. On the 12th (of 
August), Count Frontenac embarked his army upon lake 
Frontenac (Ontario), upon their return to Canada. The 
English at Albany and New York had had timely notice of 
the expedition under Frontenac, and George Fletcher called 
several meetings of his Council to talk of means for aiding 
the Iroquois, and they talked of sending 400 men to Onon- 
daga. The record of one of the meetings of the Council, saya 
respecting this proposition: " The Council do approve there- 
of, but affirm the impossibility for want of money," &c. Sev- 
eral members of the Council talked of loaning their personal 
credit to the colony for 200 pounds each, but while they were 
talking the French had come and gone. The Oneidas and 
Mohawks had sent some of their chiefs to Albany, asking for 



XXX.] INDIANS. 849 

men and arms for their protection, knowing their inability 
to meet so large a force as was marching against them. Up- 
on the near approach of the French, the main body of the 
Oneida Nation had fled to Albany, where they arrived about 
the 8th of August, and messengers were dispatched to bring 
the homeless Onondagas to that place also. Haying lost 
their entire crops of corn, these two nations were, during most 
of the year following, dependent for support upon the govern- 
ment and people of the colony of New York, and their fami- 
lies remained at Albany and other places upon the Hudson, 
until their castles and towns had been rebuilt. In 1687 the 
.Seneca villages had been destroyed in the same manner, by 
an army under M. Denonville, and in 1690 Schenectady had 
been destroyed, and the Mohawks jeopardized and alarmed — 
and the latter raised but small quantities of grain — leaving 
only the Gayugas, who had not been over-run by the French, 
to succor and aid the other four nations. 

But the cliarge of invasion does not apply exqlusively to 
the French. The Iroquois frequently sent out parties to the 
frontiers of Canada, and who often crossed the boundaries 
with hostile intentions ; and many parties of French, on both 
sides, were destroyed or made captives. It was the policy of 
the French to induce the Indians, as often as possible, to 
make their treaties in Canada, instead of upon their own 
territory. After the defeat of the Senecas by Denonville, 
and early in the year 1688, the French invited about twelve 
hundred Iroquois to Montreal, to make a treaty ; but while 
upon their way thither several of their number were murder- 
ed by a party of Hurons. The Hurons were the allies of 
the French, but were opposed to peace, and their chief made 
the Iroquois believe that they had been instigated to these 
murders by the French. The Iroquois now resolved upon 
revenge. 

54 



350l ANNALS OF ONEIDA coi:rNrr. [CHAr 

Oq the the 25th of July, IGSS, they landed upon the 
island of Montreal, and destroyed about one thousand of the 
inhabitants, burned their houses, sacked their plantations, 
and carried off twenty sis prisoners, who met death at the 
dtake. la October of this year, they again descended like 
tigers upon the devoted inhabitants of the lower part of the 
island, and killed or carried into bondage a largo number. 
Death and desolation followed the Iroquois in these attacks, 
ia their most dreadful forms, and mauraing and misery were 
entailed upon the French emigrant.-^ for long years afterwards. 
The destruction of Schenectady was thought to have been in 
retaliation for these incursions, as the Ei^glish and Iroquois 
were allies, and the latter wore, even in times of peace between 
England and France, incited by the former to hostility against 
the French of Canada. In 1G3S, a permanent peace was 
established between Canada and the Iroquois, which continued 
until, 1755 — the Iroquois as a people, maintaining a position 
of strict neutrality in the wars between England and France. 
A.B individuals and adventurers, a few of the Iroquois fought 
under the banner of either nation, but in their councils the 
Indians had learned that victory to either sido could confer 
uo benefits upon thorn. During this interval of peace, the 
French put forth many efforts to inuuec the Iroquois to 
remove to Canada, but with little success, as the Indians 
were too strongly attached to their old hunting grounds. In 
1749, Father Millet established a mission station at La Pre- 
sentation, called by the Indiana Sw:gat(hic. (no\7 Ogdens- 
burgh), which he fortified. Ills object was to induce those 
of the Six Nations willing to embrace the Catholic faith to 
remove thither, and thus bring them under the dominion and 
influenco of the French. In the course of about ten years, 
many families, including about three hundred souls, princi- 
pally Oneidas and Oaondagas, removed thither. Upon the 



XXX ] INDIANS. 851 

ooaquest of Canada, this mission was broken up, aud the 
natives scattered. Up to this time, tiio Jesuits had main- 
tained missions among the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Seneeas, 
with varied success. 

Prior to the French war of 1755, Sir William Johnson, 
Indian agent for the Northern Department, had acquired an 
influence among the Iroquoi.s never enjoyed hy another indi- 
vidual. Under his iniluence the main body of the Iroquois, 
excepting the Sonecas, beeamo the allies of the English 
during the war ; but the Benecas and those who had removed 
CO the borders of Canada, under the influence of the Jcauifs, 
fought under the French. After the conquest of Canada, the 
Iroquois remained at peace, until the commencement of the 
Revolution. 

The United Colonies felt tho importance of ascertaining 
the sentiments of the Indians, and propitiating their good 
will, knowing with Wiiafc power they might-fall upon the fron- 
tiers, if so disposed. Tho colonies, in the first instance, only 
desired to sojaro their ncutraiity, but if that should not 
be practicable, then they would reluctantly accept the aid of 
their arms. On the contrary, the British immediately sent 
agents among the Six Nations, toseeuro their active co-opera- 
tion with their forces in the war ; and tho bloodshed, r;ipine 
and destruction witnessed in the Mohawk Valley, and upon 
the frontiers of Pennsylvania, were the result. As evidenco 
of the policy of tho Americans, as above stated, the follow- 
ing extracts from the records of tho Continental Congress 
^i July 17, 1775, arc given : 

'\Iiesoloed, That Mr. Cashing, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Deane, 
be a committee to confer with Mr. Kirkland, and report 
what in their opinion is an adequate compensation for his 
services among the Indians." 

On the same day, the committee reported, Mr. Kirkland 



852 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP. 

being present, and, in accordance with such report, Congress 
" Resolved, that there be, and there is hereby allowed to 
Reverend Mr. Samuel Kirkland, three hundred dollars to 
discharge the expenses he has been at among the Indians of 
the Six Nations, to defray the expenses of his journey from 
and to the Oneida Country, and that he receive the same out 
of the Continental Treasury : and it is hereby recommended 
to the Commissioners of the Northern Department to employ 
the said Mr. Kirkland among the Indians of the Six Nations, 
in order to secure their friendship, and to continue them in a 
state of neutrality with respect to the present controversy 
between Great Britain and these Colonies." 

How different from the reward offered and paid by the 
British, of eight dollars a-piece for the scalps of the Ameri- 
cans, without regard to age, sex or condition I No wonder 
that it is hardly considered in the Mohawk Valley, even to 
this day, a crime to kill an Indian. 

The following letter written by Mr. Kirkland, to the New 
York Committee of Safety, a short time before he visited 
Congress, is characteristic, and reveals the then existing stat<? 
of things — and it is presumed will be new to most of our 
readers : ^ 

" CuERnv Valley, 9th June, 177o. 
"GENTLeMEN : — This acknowledges the receipt of .your favor with 
;in enclosed paper, the authenticity of which I have no donbt. I am 
much embarrassed at present. You have doubtless heard that Col. 
Johnson has orders from government to remove the dieseniing minis- 
ters from the Six Nations, 'till the difficulties between Great Britain 
and the Colonies are settled — in consequence of which he has forbid 
my return to my people at Oneida. He has since given encouragement 
that I may visit them after the Congress ; but, to be plain, I have no 
dependence at all upon his promises of this kind. In particular he ap- 
pears unreasonably jealous of me, and has forbid my speaking a word 
to the Indians and threatened me with confinement if I transgressed. 



XXX.] INDIANS. 853 

All he has against me I suppose to be this ; a suspicion that I have iu- / 
torpreted to the Indians the doings of the Continental Congress, which 
has undeceived and too much opened the eyes of the Indians for Col. 
Johnson's purposes. I confess to you, gentlemen, that I have been 
guilty of this, if it be any transgression. The Indians found out that 
1 had received the abstracts of said Congress, and insisted on know- 
ing the contents. I could not deny them notwithstanding my cloth. 
though in all other respects I have been extremely cautious not to 
meddle in matters of a political nature. 

" I apprehend ray interpreting the doings of the Congress to a 
number of their Sachems, has done more real service to the cause of 
the country, or the cause of truth and justice, than XSOO in presents 
would have effected. If you think proper you may acquaint your 
Provincial Congress with the contents of this, but you must be cau- 
tious in exposing my name. You can not but be sensible my situation 
is extremely difficult. You may expect either to see or hear from me 
again very soon. Wishing you the blessings of peace, and that we 
may all be disposed to acquiesce in the divine government; inutmosi 
haste I subscribe, gentlemen, yourob't. and very humble servant, 

' S.iMUEL KlEKL.tNJJ. 

•■ To the Committee of Albany." 

Early in the year 1776, a council was held at Fort Dayton 
(now Herkimer), in which all the Six Nations were repre- 
sented by many of their chiefs and warriors, and Gen. Phili|i 
vSchuyler was the commissioner of the Colonies, under the 
authority of Congress. A treaty was here negotiated, iu 
which all the Six Nations pledged themselves to remain 
neutral during the contest ; but in a short time they com- 
menced their depredations upon the frontiers. The John- 
sons at Johnstown, Walter Butler, Brant and others, had 
exerted an influence which could not be overcome. 

The main body of the Oneidas (those living at Oneida 
Castle), a part of the Tuscaroras, and one or two members of 
the St. Regis tribe, however, began and continued the firm 
and faithful friends of the Americans, during the entire 



854 A>rKAL6 OF ONEIDA COUNTY [cHAP, 

Revolutionary contest. For this result we were mainlv 
indebted to the wisdom, perseverance, and personal inHuence 
of Rev. Mr. Kirkland and Judge James Dean. As it was 
hardlj in the nature of the Indians, especially the noble 
Oaeidas, when their friends were suffering in the contest, to 
be restrained within the bounds of neutrality, their active 
servieeB were reluctantly accepted by "Washington. Yet it 
remains to be shown, that the Indian allies of the Americans 
were ever guilty of those acts of cruelty and barbarism, which 
HO indelibly tarnished the fame and flag of our foes, when 
committed by their allies, under the auspices and procure- 
ment of the British Parliament. 

The Oneidas and Tuscarcras, when in service, were main- 
ly employed as scouts, in. procuring and conveying intelli- 
gence of the plans and movements of the enemy upon our 
frontiers, and in making an out-post at Oneida Castle, so that 
the enemy were compelled to take extended circuits in reach- 
ing the Mohawk Valley. The colony at Oquago, supposed 
to have been Oneidas, and may be some others upon th« 
SusQuehannah, were doubtless in the employ of the British, 
and from whence the parties of Indians and infinitely more 
savage Tories, made their descents upon the frontier settle- 
ments. In the latter part of 1778, Oquago (now Windsor, 
Broome Co.), was destroyed by the Americans. 

It is impossible, at this time^ to do justice to the Oneidas, 
and other friendly Indians, who took part with the American.^, 
by recounting their deeds of valor, or recording the variou.s 
services which they rendered. It is understood, that a con- 
siderable party of them were with the American army at th? 
battle of White Plains, and did good service. During the 
siege of Fort Stanwix, they were very useful in watching the 
enemy, and conveying intelligence. Col. Louis, of the St. 
Regis, has been named as among those who rendered .bene- 



XXX.] INDIANS. 855 

ficial services at and in the vicinity of Fort Stanwix, at that 
period. Upon the retreat of St. Leger, a party of Oneidaa 
liung upon his rear, adding to the panic and speed of his 
forces. Gol. Louis received his title, with a commission, from 
Congress, oa account of his attachment to the Americans. 
The great Scanandoa, '• The White Man's Friend," exerted 
his powerful influence at first, in inducing the Oaeidaa to 
remain neutral, and when that was impossible, by explaining 
the principles involved in the contest, and enlisting their 
warriors in behalf of the Americans. 

In October, 1780, when Gen. Robert Van Rensselaer pur- 
Bued John Johnson and his Tories and Indians up the 
Mohawk, he had with him about 200 Oaeidas under Col. 
John Harper. They, however, gained no laurels in. this 
expedition, because of the disgraceful management of Gen. 
Van Rensselaer, who, even after the British officers had in 
council decided to surrender, did not give them an opportu- 
nity to do eo, but by a suspicious supiueness, permitted their 
whole force to escape. Col. Harper and his brave Oneidas 
were impatient to attack the enemy, and were highly incens- 
ed at their General's movements — and Col. Harper would 
have made an attack, had it not been cpntrary to orders. 

In October, 1781, a force of from 700 to 1000 British- 
Tories and Indians — corasianded by Major Ross, accom- 
panied by the bloodstained Tory Major, Walter Butler, made 
a descent into the Mohawk Valley, burning the few remain- 
ing buildings in their way, killing several of the inhabitants 
in their houses, and carrying others into captivity in Canada. 
The brave Col. Willett, who was then at Fort Rensselaer, 
about twenty miles from where the British were known to be. 
immediately marched to Fort Hunter with all the force he 
eould muster, amounting to 416 men. On the 25th of Octo- 
ber, the battle of Johnstown was fought, in which the Ameri- 



856 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [ciIAr. 

cans were victorious, and the enemy put to flight. The 
enemy continued to retreat during the whole night after the 
battle, taking a route westward, about twenty miles nortli- 
wardly of the Mohawk. Col. Willett had under his com- 
jnand a considerable force (by some stated at a hundred and 
upwards) of Oneida and other friendly Indians, among whom 
was a Mohawk chief, commanded by Col. Louis. On the 
morning following the battle. Col. Willett commenced the 
pursuit, and upon the arrival of his advance near the West 
Canada Creek, a smart skirmish occurred between them and 
the enemy. The British then ci'ossed the West Canada 
Creek, about fifteen miles north of Herkimer, and near where 
that stream leaves Oneida county ; and the Tory Butler, 
unconscious of being within the reach of American rifles, 
dismounted and was in the act of drinking from a tin cup. 
when ho was discovered. Anthony, a Mohawk chief, and 
"Daniel Olendorf, well known upon the Mohawk river, were 
iu advance of the main body, and recognizing the Tory leader, 
both fired across the creek, and Butler fell. The Mohawk, 
casting aside his rifle and blanket, plunged into the stream, 
tomahawk iu hand, and when he came up to the wounded 
Tory, found him reclining upon hi.-^ elbow, supporting his 
Weeding head. Seeing the Mohawk, Butler raised his hand 
and cried, " Spare me ! — give nie quartet's P' Remembering 
the destruction of Cherry Valley, and the leading part But- 
ler had borne in that murderous attack, amid the unheeded 
prayers of mothers and tears of orphan children, the Indian 
replied, " Me give you Slierrey Falley quarters" with th(< 
words burying his keen-edged tomahawk in his brain. Col. 
AVillett and a number of his oflScers arriving, were informed 
by Olendorf of the near proximity of Butler, and they crossed 
the stream just as the Mohawk had drawn his knife to scalp 
the lifeless Butler. But perceiving hia commander. Col 



KXX.] INDIANS. 857 

JiOuis, he asked, by a clrculai- motion with his knife around 
the bleeding head, if he should do it? Col. Louis asked 
Col. Willett if Butler should be scalped, to which Col. Wil- 
lett replied " he (the Mohawk) belongs to your party ;" and 
an approving nod from the Savage Colonel was followed by 
the Mohawk's securing the usual trophy of Indian prowess. 
The Mohawk chief then appropriated to immediate use the 
uniform of the fallen Tory, and was soon strutting about, 
saying, '' / be Brisk ofser !" Thus ended the days of one 
who even from childhood had been noted for his cruel and 
cold heart and savage temper — who had so often feasted his 
eyes with the blood of his neighbors and those with whom he 
liad been reared. His father. Col. John Butler, although an 
active Tory officer, had, it is said, some good traits — but the 
son none. 

It would be a grateful task to record more fully the ser- 
vices of our Indian friends and allies in the Revolution ; but 
the particulars and data are lost or forgotten. But the 
great material fact that the Oneidas, a part of the Tuscaro- 
raa. one or two of St. Regis, and at least one Mohawk, " did 
what they could" for us and our country in that dark hour, 
is engraven in indelible and imperishable characters upon 
the American heart. 

During the summer of 1777, while the army of St. Leger 
was approaching and at Fort Stanwix, and at various other 
periods during the war, the Oneidas and friendly Tuscaroraa 
removed their families to Schenectady and Albany, where 
they were supported by our government. Game was render- 
ed scarce in the forests, from the marching of so many hostile 
forces through them ; and the Indians had neither time nor 
quiet in which to raise corn for their sustenance, which ren- 
dered those measures for their support indispensable. 

At the close of the Revolution it became necessary for our 



85S ANNALS or ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAr. 

government to enter into treaties and various arrangements 
with the Indian tribes, with regard to their rights, lands, etc., 
and the terms under which they were to be permitted to 
remain within the United States. Congress appointed com- 
missioners for holding a convention with the Indians in the 
Northern and Middle Departments, and adopted a series of 
resolutions, fixing the basis of those treaties and arrange- 
ments with the several Nations. Notwithstanding that most 
of these tribes had been hostile to the United States during 
the war, the policy of Congress was mild and humane ; yet 
this basis of arrangement recognized distinctions between 
Ihem, founded upon thoir previous course and existing feel- 
ings towards our government. Those resolutiors were 
adopted October 15, 1783. 

As to the Oueidas and Tuscaroras. however, a dilferer.t 
state of thin<!;s had existed, av.d the followins: was the resola- 
tion respecting them : 

" Sixthly — And whereas the Oneida and Tuscarora tril^'s 
have adhered to the cause of America, and joined her armies 
in the coui-se of the late war, and Congress have frequently 
assured them of peculiar marks of favor and friendship, the 
said commissioners are therefore instructed to reassure the 
said tribes of the friendship of the United States, and that 
they may rely that the land which they claim as their inheri- 
tance will be reserved for their sole use and benefit, until 
they may think it for their advantage to dispose of the same." 

The commissioners appointed by Congress were Oliver 
Wolcott, Kichard Butler, and Arthur Lee. A grand coun- 
cil of all the Six Nations was called at Fort Stanwix, in 1784. 
and a treaty made by which the Six Nations (except the 
Mohawks) had reservations assigned them, and establishing 
the line between this State ahd the Oneidas, upon* the '• old 
line of property-' as fixed by the treaty of 1758. 



The British treated their Indian allies with much indiffer- 
cnce after the war, excepting those who removed to Canada, 
the main body of the Mohawks and Cayugas and individuals 
of the other tribes, making no stipulations in their favor in 
the treaty of peace with our government. In the Indian 
wars from 1788 to '94, the Oneidas took no part, while the 
Onondagas and Senecas joined the western tribes, who de- 
feated Generals St. Clair and Harmer ; but they were 
defeated and almost annihilated by Gen. Wayne, and many 
of those two tribes left their bones to bleach upon the banks 
of the Miami. Since thea none of the Six Nations residing 
within our limits have turned their arms against us. In the 
war of 1812, the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas, 
took part with the United States, and did good service at 
Chippewa and Lundy's Line. They elected Iloh-a-hao-qaa 
(La Fort), an Onondaga, their cliief war captain, Y.'ho was 
killed at Chippewa. Poxtator, an Oneida chief, was al^ 
killed, in the same action. 

Protestant Missions. — About the year 1700, efforts began 
to be made to establish Protestant missions among the 
Iroquois : but for many years but little was done but to aji- 
point a few missionaries, who resided among the Englis!i and 
Dutch, and occasionally visited the various tribes. 

In 1712, Rev. William Andrews was appointed a mission- 
ary among the " Mohocks and Oneidas " by the " Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," under the 
auspices of Queen Anne, who felt a deep interest in the Six 
Nations. After a residence of six years among the Moliawks, 
visiting the Oneidas often, he became discouraged and askod 
to be recalled, saying : " there is no hope of making them 
better — heathen they arc and heathen they still must be,"' 
evincing to us less faith than some of our modern missiona- 
ries, who have labored more than six years before seeing a 



SGO ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [OHAP. 

single couvert. Afterwards the Rev. Drs. Barclay and Ogil- 
vie, missionaries at Albany, continued to visit and labor with 
the Mohawks and Oneidas, among whom there were a con- 
siderable number of Christian converts. The first regular 
Protestant mission established at Oneida Castle, was doubt- 
less tliat of Rev. Mr. Kirkland, already noticed, although it 
is believed that the place received the occasional visits of 
missionaries, between 1700 and the date of Mr; Kirkland's 
arrival in 1766. Sir William Jolmson, from the time of his 
arrival among the Mohawks in 1734 to his death in 1774, is 
said to have felt a strong interest for, and made many efforts 
to Christianize the Six Nations, avid procure missionaries 
and teachers to reside among them. About the year 1750, 
several families of Oneidas and Tus^iaroras from Oquago 
(then spelled Onohoghgwage), began to spend the winter in 
attendance at the Rev. Dr. Edwards' mission school, at 
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and continued to do so for a 
number of years, and among others were there taught by Rev. 
iJideon Ilawley. In 1748, Rev. Elihu Spencer (afterwards 
president of Dickinson's College, New Jersey) had been sent 
as a missionary to Oquago, but he was KHable to surmount 
the difficulties of his situation and returned. On the 22d of 
May, 1753, Rev. Mr. Hawley, Deacon Timothy Woodbridge 
and Rev. Mr. Ashley and wife (the latter as interpreter, hav- 
ing been a prisoner among the Indians), set out from Stock- 
bridge, on their way to Oquago for the purpose of re-estab- 
li.shing the mission at that place, where they arrived June 
4th, after many hardships and troubles. Deacon Wood- 
bridge was induced to make the journey, on account of hie 
great experience and wisdom, to aid in arranging questions 
respecting the mission, and returned in a few weeks. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ashley did not long remain, but returned to New 
England. Rev. Mr. Hawley remained several years, and 



\'XX.J INDIANS. 861 

until he was compelled to abandon the mission by the events 
of the war with France. President Edwards took a deep in- 
terest in this mission, and sent his son, a lad of nine years, 
to learn the Indian language under the care of Mr. Ilawley, 
but after remaining a year, his longer stay was considered 
unsafe, and he was intrusted to a faithful Indian, who re- 
turned him to his father, carrying Iiim much of the way upon 
his back. 

In 1770, Rev. Mr. Ashley was a missionary at Oquago, 
and he was succeeded by llev. Mr. Crosby. Mr. Ashley 
mentions Hev. Messrs. Peter and Henry Avery, as mission- 
aries among the Tuscaroras, Onondagas, and also at Oquago.. 
The author, it will be seen, has omitted to name the Indians 
at Oquago, for the reason that he has not satisfactorily learn- 
ed to what tribes they belonged, but he believes they were 
mainly Oneidas and Tuscaroras. By some authors they are 
called Oquagas. 

Tlic labors of Mr. Kirkland have been noticed somewhat 
at length in the history of the town of Kirkland, but as a 
liistoric truth, the author would here re-state the fact that 
Hamilton College was projected and founded for the special 
benefit of the Indians. 

Those of the Oneidas who became converts to Christianity 
under the ministry of tlie Rev. Mr. Kirkland, have been 
known as a distinct party in treaties, documents and convey- 
ances, as the " First Christian Party of the Oneida Nation." 
Rut for several years Mr. Kirkland resided near Clinton, his 
labors had been divided, and the mission declined so that this 
party included but about one tenth of the nation. Rev. Mr. 
Jenkins labored as a missionary with this people for several 
years after the death of Mr. Kirkland. 

In 1816, a mission was established at Oneida, by Bishop 
Hobart, of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In this year 



•862 AN>'AL5 OF ONEIDA COUNT!'. [CHAF 

Mr. Eleazar Williams was selected by th# bishop to take 
the charge of the mission, lie was the (reputed) son of 
Thomas Williams, a distinguished chief of the Mohawk 
brancli of the St. Regis tribe, aad was a descendant, of Rev. 
John Williams, who, with his family and parishioners, was 
taken captive by the French and Indians at Deerfield, Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1701. Mr. Eleazar W^illiams had been libe- 
rally educated (as a Presbyterian) for the purpose of being 
uifeful among his people — and now having become an Epis- 
copalian, he was selected as a catechist, lay-reader and school 
teacher at Oneida. (Rev. Eleazar "Williams is the same 
person respecting whom so much has been said for a few 
years past, in the attempts to show that he is the lost Dau- 
phin, the son of the unfortaaata Louis XVI, whose fate ha.s 
heretofore been enshrouded in mystery. Whether he should 
rightfully have been Louis XVil or not, is an interesting 
question, but now of little practical importance.) Previous 
to the year 1816, a large portion of the Oneida Nation had 
continued firmly and obstinately attached to the religion of 
their fathers, and were known as the Pagan Parti/. Such 
was the success of Mr. Williams, that on the 25th of January, 
1817, a large number of the tribe sent an address to Gover- 
nor DeWitt Clinton, in which they declared that they had 
fully and cheerfully embraced the doctrines of Christianity, 
abjuring Pagajiisin, and requesting henceforth to be known 
and called the " Scco?ul Christian Parti/ of the Oneida 
Nation.'' This address was adopted in council, and signed 
by eleven chiefs and head men Oa the 13th of September, 
IS 18, Bishop Hobart visited the mission and confirmed 89 
young persons, and in 1819, 56 more ; and, including these, 
there were upwards of 500 confirmed at this place during the 
ooatinuance of the mission. In 1818, the Second Christian 
Party sold a piece of land, to enabb them to erect a chapel. 



XXX.] INDIANS. 86S 

which was consecrated by Bishop liobart, Scpt^mb^r 21, 
18 19, by the title of St. Peter's Church. la 1822, Mr. Solo- 
inoa Davis succeeded Mr. Williams, the latter having remov- 
ed to' Greea Bay with a large portion of the Oneida Nation, 
where he established a mission lindcr the auspices cf the 
Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In 
1826, Mr. Wiiliauis v/as ordained as a deacon, while upon a 
visit to Oneida Ca.'itle ; and, in 1S29, Mr. Davis was admitted 
to the (ndnT- of priests. la 1833, Mr. Davis removed to 
Green Bay, with another portion of the Nation, where the 
mission has been continued with success. In 1840, the house 
of worship before named was sold and removed to Vernon 
where it was re-erccted and has since been occupied hj the 
Unitarian Society. 

Methodist Mission. — In 1829, a mission church was formed 
at Oneidu, by Rev. Dun Barnes, with twenty-four Indian 
members. The t^uccess of the mission was but small until 
184 1, when B,?.v. Ilosman Ingals v/as appointed missionary at 
Oneida and Onondaga — he preaching three Lord's days at 
the former and one at the latter place each month. In 
August, 1346, Mr. Ingals was succeeded by llev. Daniel 
Fancher, as missionary at both stations, since which the 
mission has been quite successful, and it is thou<Tht both 
stations will be soon able to sustain themselves. In 1841 a 
house for worship was erected at Oneida, but standing upon the 
lands sold in 1843, was sold with them, and another house was 
erected in 1844. These missions at Oneida and Onondan^a, 
have been kept united, beojuse the latter required the assis- 
tance of the Oneidas, " who are by far the most susceptible 
of religious impressions and improvement." Tlie Indians at 
Oneida support a common school, in which the children 
make good improvement, and which is attended by some of 
the " pale faced" children living in the neighborhood. 



864 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY, [cilAP. 

The author has not room to devote to a description of the 
peculiar manners, customs, religious belief and ceremonies, 
ttnd superstitions of the Indians, for it would require a vol- 
ume. The once imposing ceremonies of their councils, their 
dances and songs for various occasions, their observances and 
mythology, are all fast becoming lost and forgotten among 
themselves, from neglect and disuse, because occasions for 
them cease to recur, and because they feel that as a people 
they ai*e wasting away — indeed because they have ceased to 
be the Konoshioni, being broken, scattered and dispirited. 

The Iroquois all believed in witches, and about 1805, oc- 
curred the last execution at Oneida iov witchcraft. Two 
women suffered for this supposed crime. Han Yost, an In- 
dian, somewhat noted in the Revolution, was chosen execu- 
tioner, and he entered their lodge and tomahawked them ac- 
cording to the decree of a council. Luke Hitchcock, Esq.., 
then a lad, was present at the execution. 

Celebrated Oneida Chiefs. — If the pages of history do not 
show as long a list of most distinguished chiefs and warriors- 
of the Oneida nation, as of some of the others, it is because 
the names and deeds of their great men have not been pre- 
served. Early writers upoa the Iroquois speak of the Onei- 
das as displaying the greatest talents in council and diploma- 
cy, while in prowess and courage they were equals with any 
of the Six Nations. According to tradition, Otatschechta 
was the chief or delegate from the Oneidas, who aided in 
forming the confederacy of the Five Nations, and that the 
wood spirit who presided over and directed their councils, ad- 
dressed the Oneidas in concluding the ceremonies : " and 
you Oneidas, a people who recline your bodies against the 
everlasting Stone that cannot be moved, shall be the second 
Nation, because you give wise coutisel." In 1656, Atondu- 
tochan is mentioned by the French as a distinguished Oneida 



XXX.] U«BIANS. 8t>5 

chief, who had visited Canada, and exerted a powerful influ- 
ence anaoQg the Iroquois. A long list of Oneida chiefs, who 
iiave attended councils and signed treaties and other papers 
for two hundred years past, might be made, but little or 
uothing else could be said of them. 

Among the chiefs who aided in enlisting the Oneidas in 
behalf of the Americans, during the Revolution, was one who 
has dsually worn the mhriquet of Plattcopf. He was the 
junior of Scanandoa, and is said not to have exerted an equal 
iofiaence ; but, notwithstanding, by the fire of his eloquence 
and the force of his reasoning, he often bound the attention 
and swayed the passions of the Oneida nation. British gold 
and ancient friendships often tempted the cupidity and loy- 
alty of the Oneidas, but were as often met by appeals and 
invectives of their orators, who served the cause of truth 
and justice, by a recital of the wrongs, injuries and rights of 
the Colonists. Messrs. Kirkland and Dean kept these ora- 
tors fully prepared with materials for their speeches. 

Scayiandoa. — But the name which stands more promine?at- 
ly upon the page of history, and which will be remembered 
imtil the original inhabitants of this continent are forcfotten, 
is that of Scanandoa, " the white man's friend." He was 
born about the year 170S, but of his younger days little or 
nothing is known. It has been stated, but upon what 
authority the writer does not know, that he was not an 
Oneida by birth, but was a native of a tribe living a long 
distance to the north-west, and was adopted by the Oneidas 
when a young man. (He may have belonged to the Necaris- 
guas, who lived north of Mackinaw, but a considerable body 
of whom came in 1 722, and were adopted by the Six Nations 
and soon became intermingled with them.) In his youtli 
and earlier manhood, Scanandoa was very savage and intern- 
poratc. In 1755, while attending upon a treaty in Albany, 

5o 



866 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

he became excessively drunk at night, and in the niorning 
lovmd himself divested of all his ornaments and clothing 
Jlis pride revolting at his self-degradation, he resolved never 
again to place himself under the power of '■'■fire water" a 
resolution which it is believed he kept to the end of his life. 
In appearance he was noble, dignified and commanding, being 
in heighth much over sis feet, and the tallest Indian in his 
r:ation. He possessed a powerful frame, for at the age of 85 
lie was a full match for any member of his tribe, either as to 
strength or speed on foot ; his powers of endurance were 
e^ual to his size and physical power. But it was to his elo- 
quence and mental powers he owed his reputation and influ 
encc. His person was tattooed, or marked in a peculiar 
iT!:inuer. There were nine lines, arranged by threes, extend- 
ing downwards from each shoulder, and meeting upon the 
chest, made by introducing some dark coloring matter under 
the skin. He was in " his riper years one of the noblest 
counsellors among the North American tribes ; he possessed 
a vigorous mind, and was alike sagacious, active, and perse- 
vering. As an enemy, he was terrible — as a friend and ally 
le was mild and gentle in his disposition, and faithful to his 
engagements. His vigilance once preserved from massacre 
the inhabitants of the little settlement at German Flats ; and 
in the revolutionary war his influence induced the Oueidas to 
take up arms in favor of tlie Aniericaus." Soon after Mr. 
Kirklaud established his mission at Oueida, Scanandoa em- 
Iraced the doctrines of the Gospel, and for the rest of his life 
lie lived a consistent Christian. He often repeated the wish 
that he might be buried by the side of his old teacher and 
r^piritual father, that he might "go up with him at the great 
resurrection ;"' and several times in the latter years of his 
life he made the journey from Oneida to Clinton, hoping to 
die there. " Although he could speak but little English, and 



JtXX.j INDIANS. 867 

in his extreme old age was blind, yet his company was 
sought. In conversation he was highly decorous, evincing 
that he had profited by seeing civilized and polished society, 
and by mingling in good company in his better days." He 
evinced constant care not to give pain by any remark or 
reply. Upon one occasion he was visited by a party of young 
ladies, who found him at his house reclining upon a couch. 
He was then blind. After the introduction by Miss Kirk- 
land, who was one of the party, Scanandoa asked, " are tk^sc 
Iculies married ?" Upon being answered in the negative, he 
responded, '•'^U is wdl^ for there are many bad men !" Mies 
Kirkland, who had seen much of the chief, said to her friends 
tliat if he had received an affirmative answer, he would prob- 
jibly have responded. " it is well, if you have got good hus- 
l)and8." To Prof Norton, of Hamilton College, upon 
receiving a similar answer, he responded, ^'itiswell.t/urcarc 
hiany bad icomenF 

To a friend who called upon him a short time before his 
docease, he thus expressed himself by an interpreter : '■ I am 
sm aged hemlock ; the winds of an hundred winters have 
whistled through my branches ; I am dead at the top. The 
giineration to which I belonged have run away and left me ; 
why I live, the Great •Good Spirit only knows ; pray to my 
JeSus that I may have patience to wait for my appointed 
time to die." An eloquence and beauty of sentiment which 
liave been admired by millions in many lands, and which 
have been seldom equalled by the most eloquent or best of 
.ancient or modern times. 

After listening to the prayers read at his bed-side by his 
great-graudaughter, Scanandoa yielded up his spirit on the 
1 1th day of March, 1816, aged about 110 years. Agreeably 
to a promise made by the family of Mr. Kirkland, his 
lamains were brought to Clinton, and buried by the side of 



'^Gfi ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

his spiritual father. Services were attended in the Congre- 
;^ational meeting-house in Clinton, and an address was made 
to the Indians by Dr. Backus, President of Hamilton Col- 
lege, interpreted by Judge Dean, and after prayer, and sing- 
ing appropriate psalms, the corpse was carried to the grave, 
preceded by the Students of the College, and followed in 
order by Indians; iMrs. Kirkland and family; Judge Dean : 
Rev. Dr. jScrton; llev, Mr. Ayres ; Officers of the College ; 
Citizens. 

Scanandoa was buried in the garden of Mr. Kirkland, a 
short distance south of the road leading up to the College. 
A handRome mcnument stands in the College burying ground, 
with the following inscription ; 

"Skenandoa. This Monument i.s erected hy the Northern Mis- 
sionary Society, in testimony of tlieir respect for the memory of 
.Skenandoa, who died in the peace and hope of the Gospel, on the 
11th of March, 1816. Wise, eloquent and brave, helongswayedthe 
Councils of his Tribe, whose conndence and affection he eminently 
<njoyc.d. In the war which placed the Canadas under the crown of 
Great Britain, he was actively engaged against the French ; in that 
of the Revolution, he espoused that of the Colonies, and ever after- 
ward remained a firm friend to the United States. Under the rr.in- 
istryofthe Eev. Mr. Kirkland he embraced the doctrines of the 
Gospel ; and having exhibited their power in a long life, adorned by 
every Christian virtue, be fell asleep in Jesus, at the ad7ar.ced a^e 
of one hundred years." 

Present Condition of Onddas. — As has been stated, the 
threat body of the Oncidas removed to Green Bay, at differ- 
ent periods between 1822 and 1833; and families and small 
parties have emigrated since that period. 

By the Report of the U. S. Indian Agent in 1849. it 
seems that the Oneidas at Green Bay were still in a very 
prosperous condition. The old and familiarnames of '• rir.st 
OhriBtian Party," and " Orchard Party," were still retained. 



XXX.] INDIANS. 860 

the former beiug under the Episcopal and the latter under 
Methodist missions. The schools of both are taught in En' 
glish. Those schools numbered 100 scholars. "The trib(i 
i.s steadily advancing in civilization ; their farms improve in 
appearance year by year, and their manner of living assimi- 
lates more and more to that of the whites." The use of wliis- 
key seems to be the main hindrance to their advancement ; 
but their chiefs are adopting the wise policy of suppressing 
the traflic in the article among them. Those at Green Ba} 
numbered in 1849 eight hundred and thirty-six souls. 

In 1845, there were upon the Oneida Reservation (iu 
Jjenos), at Oneida Castle, in all, thirty-one families of Onei- 
das : 71 males and 86 females ; total 157; besides one Dela- 
ware, otie Mohawk, one St. Regis, and/oz^/- Stoekbridge. Of 
these 133 were still professed pagans, the remainder attendiDL'- 
upon the Methodist mission. They own 421 acres of land, 
some of which is tolerably well improved, considering. Sev- 
eral of the Indians live in framed houses, some of which arc 
painted : and their farms show considerable industrj-. 

In October. 1851, the author visited this remnant of a ouc(; 
great nation. Upon entering their houses the females were 
unifcrmly found engaged in manufacturing various fancy syti- 
cles, ornamented with beads, and for sale upon the rail-road, or 
in making clothing for their families. Among other Indians he 
saw Daniel Scauandoa, a great-grandson of the chief His 
mother was a Mohawk, which according to the Indian laws of 
descent would make him a Mohawk ; but he has doubtles.s 
been adopted by the Oueidas. His wife's mother, widow 
Betsey Denney, now almost 80, lives with him. She says her 
mother lived at Oquago, but marrying a Mohawk removed to 
the Mohawk Castle, below Fall Hill, where Betsey was born 
Betsey says that during the Revolution she lived near Niag- 
ara, which shows that her father acted with the British 



870 AJCXALS or ONEIDA COUNTY. [CRAP. 

Another relic of the past now living, is widow Jenny Doxta- 
der, in her 91st year. She was born at Oquago, where her 
mother resided and was married ; but her parents removed to 
Oneida, and during " the war at Fort Stanwix," her family, 
with many of the tribe, resided at Schenectady. She say? 
that many of the Oneidas remained at Oneida Castle and 
Fort Stanwix during the war — that she well knew Mr. Kirk- 
land and Judge Dean. She can speak very little English. 
Christian Beechtree is a chief at present better known among 
the "whites" than the other chiefs of whom there are several. 
Sally, the grand-daughter of Seanandoa, once known as the 
■' Oneida beauty," and who married Han Yost, a somewhat 
noted Indian, is still living at Green Ba}', past ninety years 
af age. When the author saw her, about fifty years ago, she 
possessed a very tall, graceful, 3'et majestic figure, with a face 
and carriage which might well be the envy of a modern belle. 
There are five families of the " Orchard Party" residing in 
the south part of Vernon. 

Lidiart Names of Persons. — In the early settlement of 
the country, the Indians frequently gave names to those with 
whom they had much intercourse, and these were generally 
.sijrnificant of some trait or circumstance. The author has 
been able to preserve or procure but very few, which are here 
given. To Judge James Dean they gave the name of Co- 
logh-qua-deal, i. e. Circle around tlie Sun ; to Abraham Van 
Eps — To-tinion-ton, i.e. Handsome Garter ; Nathan Davis — 
8oogh-nox,i.e..Ft>:? ; Daniel Petrie — Tah-une. i.e. H o/^(Messrs. 
Davis and Petrie received their name while clerks for Mr. 
Van Eps). Samuel Laird — Sesselo-wah, and his wife, Mrs. 
Mary Laird — Conne-ah-quiut, the names of a chief and hi.', 
wife ; Salmon Laird — Law-negoh-lce, i.e. Good Heart ; Silas 
Phelps — Ki an-de-lon-go, i.e. Smooth Wood; William Phelps 
^— Otcal, i.e.Racoon ; Mrs. Jedediah Phelps — Yon-ga-nole, i.e. 



XXX.] INDIANS. 871 

Shower of Rain ; John Phelps — Tol-lon-go, i. e. Duck. (This 
name was given him when a boy ; he used to ferry the Indi- 
ans in a canoe across Fish Creek at the Forks.) George 
Huntington — A.-i-o.ii.e. Handsome. To those acquainted with 
the persons named, these names will not fail to bring to mind 
some peculiarity or trait of character or manners. 

Names of Localities. — Much confusion has grown out ct 
the attempt to obtain the Indian names of lakes, streams, 
and places, owing to the differences in pronunciation in the 
.several tribes, and also the fact that the same object was 
known by a variety of names. For example the name of 
Oneida Castle is pronounced by the Oneidas, Ca-no-wa-lo-a ; 
by the Mohawks, Ga-uo-wa-lo-har-la ; the Tuscaroras, Ka-no- 
wa-no-hate ; the Onondagas, Ga-no-wi-ha; Cayugas, Ga-no-^- 
o-a ; the Senecas, Ga-no-a-o-ha ; — each signifying " Enemy'e- 
head-on-a-pole." The author gives the names of waters and 
places within the county, according to the best of his ability, 
with the significations, when known. The Onondagas call 
Oneida Lake, Seugh-ka, i. e. Striped with blue and white 
lines (waves) diverging and coming together again. It has 
also been called Techtroguen Lake ; Techiroguen Lake ; 
Kanoaloka Lake ; Onida-ho-go Lake ; Tsiroqui Lake ; but 
it is believed the Indians never call it Oneida Lake. 

Tege-soken, Fish Creek, i. e. Between the mouths. 

A-on-ta-gillon, Branch of Fish Cr'k, Creek at point of rocks. 

Sa-dagh-que-da, Sauquoit Creek, Smooth round pchbk,^. 

Ok-risk, Oriskany Creek, River of nettles. 

Kuy-a-ho-ra, Trenton Falls, Slanting water. 

Te-uge-ga, Mohawk River, (Seneca dialect.) 

U-nun-da-da-ges, Utica, Going around the hill. 

Twa-dah-ah-lo-dah-quc, " Ruins of old fort. 

Skan-an-doa, Name and stream, Hemlock : stream of hem- 

locks. 

De-o-wain-6ta, Rome Portage, Carrying place Lclu-.i-tn 

two streams. 



872 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAT'. 

The following are taken from Morgans Indian Map 
(1851), and are generally in the Seneca dialect, and v. part 
of course are modern : 

Ka-ne-go-tlick, Wood Creek, 

Ga-sote-na, Scriba's Creek, High grasn. 

Ose-te-a-dah-quo, Trenton Village, /« the houe. 

Che.ga-quat-ka, Whitesboro, 

Ka-da-wis-dag, Clinton. White fvld. 

Ga-nim-do-glee, Paris Hill, HilU shrunk toge'Jier. 

iSka-na-wis, Waterville. Long sivanip. 

Ska-nu-sunk, Vernon, P lace of the fox 

Tc-o-na-tale, Verona, Fine forent. 

Te-ya-nun-soke, Kine Mile Creek. .1 beech tiee standing 

IIe-sta-yun-t'v\-a, 

De-o.se-la-ta-gaat, Oneida Depot. Where cars go fa^i. 

The following is a description of the annual fishing feast 
of the Oneida Indians, at the forks on Fish Creek. It 
was held in the spring of the year, when the leaves on the 
trees had acquired the size of a fox's ear. In their estima- 
tion, it was an occasion of importance, and was conducted 
with much ceremony. Every family in the tribe was ex- 
pected to be present, by one or more representatives. Until 
after the feast, by their laws, none were allowed to fish for 
ssalmon. When the whole party had convened, operations 
were commenced, by driving a row of stakes across the streaui 
just below the fishing ground, and filling the interstices with 
brush, so as to entirely prevent the escape of a fish. They 
then went quite a distance above the fishing ground, and by 
various devices searched out and drove all the salmon down t'O 
the ground selected. Then another row of stakes and brush 
like the first was placed across the stream above the fish. All 
being thus made ready, the taking of the fish commenced. 
The old men, women and children were stationed at the lower 
obstruction and along the margin of the stream to secure th.& 



XKX. f INDIANS. 87S 

wounded and dying, while the more effective portion of the 
party, with spears and sharpened stakes, commenced taking 
their now-doomed captives. Their aim was to spear theiu 
and carry them ashore ; but, from the imperfection of their 
instruments, they more frequently failed than were success- 
ful, and the securing the wounded at the lower weir was au 
operation full as exciting to the old men and bo^'S as was the 
spearing to the fishermen in the stream above. When all 
were taken that were within the enclosure, which frequently 
amounted to hundreds, the cooking and feasting commenced. 
It was emphatically a feast of "first fruits," and lasted until 
all were satisfied wath the boiled, roasted and broiled ; when 
the remnant was apportioned to each family in the tribe ac- 
cording to its number of souls. 

Schoolcraft says, " some philological goose, writing from 
(Canada, makes Utica an Indian name !" 

The following pages are given as originally written by the 
author in 1838, and soon after published in several of the 
newspapers of the county. 

In March. 1787, Moses Foot, Esq., with eight other fami- 
lies, removed from New England to the village of Clinton. 
and commenced the settlement of that section of the county. 
A short time after their arrival they held a council with the 
chiefs of the Oneida Tribe, which resulted in the following 
covenant: '• If the cattle of the whites, for the purpose of 
grazing in the woods, went on the Indian grounds, or the 
cattle of the Indians came on to the lands of the whites, that 
were not enclosed, they were not to be molested ; but should 
the cattle of either party stray away, and the other party 
know where they were, notice was to be given to the owners, 
that the cattle might be reclaimed. Either party might dig 
ginseng on the other's land, but neither party were to cut any 
timber belonging to the opposite party." One or two year* 



874 ANTfALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIIAP, 

afterwards, a party of the Oneidas, beaded by the celebrated 
Sauc7j Nick, came and formed a camp about two miles west 
of the village, for the purpose of digging ginseng, where they 
remained several days. One of the settlers missed a fine fat 
steer, and on making search found some of the oifals secreted 
near the Indian camp, but the birds had flown — not an Indian 
was to be found. This was on the morning of the day ap- 
pointed for the inspection of the militia. The Governor, to 
prevent the trouble and expense of going some 30 or '10 mile? 
to meet their regiment at the German Flats, had issued his 
orders that a major should attend at Clinton, and inspect the 
two small companies, then all the organized military in the 
State, west of the said German Flats. These two companicH 
were the germs of the 20th and 134th regiments, the two 
oldest regiments in the county. On the news of the Indian 
depredation reaching the settlement, a party of some ten or 
twelve armed young men started in pursuit. 

They soon got upon their trail, and following them up the 
Oriskany Creek to some point above the forks where they 
had crossed over, crossing the south branch near the present 
site of Waterville ; they then returned on that side of the 
creek, passing but a short distance in the rear of Clinton, 
pursuing their course for the trading house of John Post, 
near Fort Schuyler (now the city of Utica). When the pur- 
suers came to the Sauquoit creek, near the site of New 
Hartford, the indications were such they were confident the 
Indians were but a few minutes in advance. They, therefore, 
divided their party ; one half, the most active, taking a cir- 
cuitous route, to get in front, while the rest were to follow in 
the rear. The plan succeeded admirably, for in a short time 
they had the whole party prisoners. The Indians, at first, 
stoutly denied having any knowledge of the steer ; but the 
whites not being so easily duped, proceeded to search their 



XXX.] mciANS. 875 

packs, when on opening that of Saucy Nick, the hide and 
bell of the missing animal made their appearance. The proof 
being now too convincing to render any further denial bene- 
ficial, some of them frankly confessed to having killed and 
eaten the steer. The Indians were, therefore, all taken back 
to Clinton as prisoners. At some point of time after the 
capture. Saucy Nick being very obstinate, one of the party 
by the name of Cook, a large athletic man, became so exas- 
perated, that he was about to strike him with his rifle, 
which another of the party prevented by seizing the rifle : 
yet Cook succeeded in giving him a blow with his cane. 
Notwithstanding the length of the pursuit, the military had 
not dispersed when the party with the prisoners returned to 
the settlement. The Indians then requested the favor of 
letting one of their number go to Oneida to acquaint their 
chiefs of the situation in which they had placed themselves^ 
engaging that the messenger should return the next morning, 
by the time the sun was an hour high, and that the rest of 
them would remain under guard as hostages. The request 
was granted, and the runner forthwith dispatched. The mes- 
senger punctually returned the next morning by the time 
specified. In the course of the forenoon, Scanandoa, Beech- 
tree, and about twenty other Oneida chiefs arrived, and 
requested a couneil with the whites. The principal settlers 
were called together, and the council agreed upon the Rev. 
Mr. Kirkland to act as interpreter — Esquire Foot to be chief 
speaker on the part of the whites, and Beechtree on the part 
of the Indians. The council was held in the old log church 
which stood near the centre of the village of Clinton, the 
Indians occupying one side of the building and the whites 
the other. After the preliminaries were all arranged, and 
ithe parties had taken their seats, some 15 or 20 minutes of 
silence was allowed to intervene. In the view of the savage. 



87G ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHA?. 

it is a very great departure from dignity and decorum, t« 
show any impatience or haste in opening the council. Beech- 
tree now arose and commenced ; 

" Will our brothers hearken 1 When our father 

(Esquire Foot) and the pale-faces came from towards the 
rising sun, and set themselves down here in the valley of the 
river of Nettles (Oriskany is the Indian name, and signifie.** 
'• Iviver of Nettles"), we made a covenant with him. (Here 
he set forth the covenant substantially as I have stated in 
the commencement of this article.) This covenant our father 
and his people have kept: with them it is very strong; thev 
have not broken it : our father and his people dealt in good 
faith with their red brothers. About six suns ago, some of 
our people came to dig ginseng ; they knew the covenant, for 
we had told them ; but they were very bad people ; with them 
the covenant was like the pipes that we get of the white 
traders, very easily broken ; they killed and eat the young 
ox of the white man; they broke the covenant. Will our 
father inform his red children what they must do to mend the 
broken covenant ? It must be mended." He then sat 
down. 

Esquire Foot now rose, and told them that to mend tin' 
broken covenant, their bad men must pay the owner for the 
young ox. They must also pay his young men for the time 
spent in pursuit of those who broke the covenant. 

Beechtree again rose and said, " our father has said well : 
the young ox must be paid for, and the young men must b< 
paid ; we do not use oxen ; we have cows ; we know how 
much they are worth, but we do not know how much the 
young ox was worth, will our father tell us?" 

Esquire Foot told him that the young ox was worth as 
much as the best cow at the Oneida, as it was very fat and 
good. 



XXX.] INDIANS. 877 

Beecbtree then said, " the owner of the young ox shall 
have our best cow, will our father tell us which it is ?" 

Esquire Foot knowing the cows at Oneida, told Beecbtree 
that a certain brown, white-faced cow, would be accepted by 
the owner of the young ox. 

Beecbtree again said, " our father is very wise — he know.s 
tlie best cow ; before the setting of the sun to-morrow, our 
young men will drive and deliver that cow ; will our father 
now tell us bow much his young men must have ?'' 

Esauire Foot now informed him that his red brothers, the 
chiefs present, vrere good men ; that they mended the cove- 
nants that their bad people broke, that they might give his 
3'oung men what they thought would be right. 

Beecbtree now said. " Will our brothers again hearken ? 
our bad men who broke the covenant were digging ginseng ; 
they bad gathered some, which they have in their packs : will 
our father look at it and say how much it is worth ? Post, 
who keeps the trading house at Fort Schuyler, will buy it." 

Esquire Foot examined the ginseng, and informed Beech- 
tree that it would bring a certain sum, which he named, it 
being a very liberal one. 

Beecbtree said, "it is a fair price, but it is not enough h> 
pay the young men. They may take it at that price, and 
about the first of next snow, Mr. Taylor, the agent, will be 
here, to pay us money for the twenty townships we sold at 
Albany ; we will give you a paper directing him to pay you 
a certain sum (v/hich he named) ; we will make our cross on 
the paper — we cannot write ; Mr. Taylor will then pay you. 
and v/hen he pays us the rest of the money to divide among 
our people, we shall not give any to those who broke the 
covenant, bo that when they see they lose their best cow. 
have their ginseng taken from them, and have no money 
^'iveu them, they will be punished ; they will be careful not 



878 ANNALS OP ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

to break tue covenant any more." This proposition wa? 
agreed to, and the writing made out and signed. Beechtree 
then said, " if the covenant is mended, let us again be friends." 
Esquire Foot told him that if the cow was delivered the next 
day, the covenant would be made good, and they would all 
be good friends again, and the council broke up with much 
good will and satisfaction ou both sides. 

It is proper here to remark, that the cow was punctually 
delivered the nest day, and the draft was duly honored by 
Mr. Taylor. During the whole sitting of the council. Beech- 
tree, before he made or accepted of any proposition, had a 
consultation with the other chiefs, and Esquire Foot had hi.s 
frequent conversations with, and the advice of the settlers. 

But there was one proud and revengeful spirit in that 
council, which did not give an assent to their being again 
friends. I allude to Saucy Nick. He had during the whole 
sitting, set with his head down in sullen silence, the blow 
which he had received from Cook while a prisoner, stlH 
smarting, still rankling and fostering in his bosom. ^Theu 
the rest left the house, he went with them without uttering a 
word, but inwardly vowing revenge, as might be seen by the 
close observer, in the snake-like glance of the eye towards; 
('ook. A few weeks after, Cook had occasion to go to Fort 
Schuyler with his cart and oxen. While there and standing 
near his team. Saucy Nick made at him with his drawn knife 
Cook had barely time to elude the blow, by jumping into his 
cart and defending himself with the butt of his whip. Saucy 
Nick soon gave over the attempt at that time. Not long after- 
wards, as Cook was chopping on his lot, it being the farm 
now owned by the heirs of the late Walter Pollard, an arrow 
whizzed by him but a few inches from his body. The arm 
that drew the bow was not to be mistaken. It was also a 
waruinff to Cook, that nothing but his heart's blood would 



XXX.] INDIANS 879 

^vipc off the diisgrace of the blow given with the cane. He 
had now learned the character of the savage, that his attempts 
would never be given over until his aim was sure, that length 
of trme would never heal hia revenge or deter him from hia 
purpose. Cook, therefore, with the advice of his friends, sold 
out his " betterments," and removed back to Connecticut. 

It has been said, and very generally believed, that the 
savage never forgave a real or supposed injury or insult, but 
carried his resentment to his grave. In the following it is 
presented in a somewhat different point of view. Major 
IJarnabas Pond, who, now in his 84th year, enjoys a good 
and green old age, on his farm near Clinton, at an early day 
in its settlement, kept a public-house in said village. One 
morning, a young Oneida chief, who spoke tolerably good 
English, of some twenty-three or twenty-four years of age, 
ill company with his wife, came into the tavern, and called 
for some rum. Major Pond tuld him he did not let Indians 
that were intoxicated, have any liquor, but as he appeared 
perfectly sober, if he would not drink too much, he might 
have some. The Indian promised to be cautious, and after 
getting the rum, drank very sparingly, giving a part to his 
wife. After sitting a few minutes, the}' went awav. 

lu the course of the afternoon they returned, in company 
with five other Indians. The young chief was now evidently 
excited with liquor. He stepped up to the bar, and called 
for a half pint of rum. Major Pond told him he should not 
lot him have any, that he .had already drank too much, that 
he informed him in the morning he did not let drunken In- 
dians have liquor. The young cliief replied, that he did not 
want it for himself, he knew that he had drank enough, that 
he had drank too much, he wanted it for the Indians with 
him ; they were his friends, and he wanted to treat them ■ 
that he would not taste a drop of it ; at the same time, show- 



88(3 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CIlAP. 

ing a piece of money he had, tied up in a handkerchief. 
With this promise, Major Pond let him have the rum. lie 
was true to his word, for without tasting, he gave it to the 
others, who drank it off. After the liquor was drank, some 
one of the company said it was time to be going, when they 
all started. Major Pond now told the young chief he had 
not paid for the rum ; he replied, that he had no money, and 
could not pay. Major Pond told him it was not so ; he had 
money, and had showed it before he had the liquor: that lie 
now told a falsehood in denying having money. The young 
chief now flew in a passion, saying, "what, you say, I lie!" 
and approached the Major at the samo time drawing his 
knife. 

The Major, a strong athletic man, now thought it time to 
act on the offensive ; he, therefore, struck the knife arm be- 
tween the elbow and shoulder a blow with the edge of his hand, 
which caused the knife to fly over the chief's head across 
the room ; he, then, in the same manner, struck him another 
blow across the throat, at the same time giving him a trip, 
which brought him to the floor, or to use the Major's own 
words, "he fell like an ox knocked down in a slaughter- 
house." The Indian lay some little time without any signs 
of animation, the blow and the fall having completely driven 
the breath from his body. The Major and the oiher Indians 
stood perfectly amazed. The Major afterwards stated, ho. 
at the time, was afraid he had gone too far, and actually 
taken life. The Indian, however, soon commenced catchin.s: 
for breath, and in a short time was able to rise up, and stand 
on his feet. After standing a short time to recover himself, 
he took the handkerchief that contained the money, and 
threw it to the Major, who took his pay, and offered to return 
it, together with the knife, which he had picked up. Thf 
Indian refused to take tlic articles, without assigning any 



XXX.] INDIANS. 881 

reason. The Major then took them to the chief's vrife, who 
likewise refused them, well knowing that if she accepted 
them, after her husband had refused, she would have given 
him very great offence. They all soon went away. 

Some few weeks afterwards, the young chief came again, 
and was very penitent ; he begged the Major's pardon, said 
he behaved very bad when in liquor ; that he had been 
served right in being knocked down; he hoped he should be 
forgiven, and that they would be friends again. The Major 
frankly forgave him, and promised his friendship, if he be- 
haved himself well in future ; and then vv'ent and got the 
handkerchief and knife, and again offered them to the owner. 
They were again refused, he stating as a reason that he had 
forfeited his knife and would not carry it. He behaved so 
very bad when he was intoxicated, he was afraid he should 
do some mischief with it. The matter here ended, and the 
young chief, who was afterwards frequently in Clinton, never 
showed any ill-will towards our landlord. 

The writer, before he concludes, believes it but common 
justice to the Oneidas to remark, that before they had be- 
come contaminated in their intercourse with the whites, they 
were far, very far, from being a vicious people. As they 
roamed in their native forests, before the demoralizir '^ alco- 
hol had made a wreck of all that was grand and noble in 
their character, they were a virtuous and happy nation. 
Unlike most savages, they were not idolators. They wor- 
shipped One Grreat Spirit, though from their lack of Revela- 
tion, their views of him were very crude. Profanity was 
unknown among them, as they had no words in their lan- 
gaage in which they could curse and swear, and when from 
their intercourse with the palefaces, they had acquired the 
vice, 'they had to practice it in Mother-English. Shame, 
white man, shame ! Theft was almost unknown among 

56 



882 ANNALS 0? ONEIDA COUNTV. [CHAF-. 

Ihcm ; to be sure there were exceptions, as in the case of 
Saucy Nick, but they were solitary. Both sexes were pro- 
verbial for their chastity. An Oneida would have considered 
himself as degraded and demeaned in his own eyes, as well 
as in those of his tribe, to insult a female. An instance might 
be mentioned, in which a young married woman and her littk' 
daughter, less than three years old, staid alone in their log 
cabin over-night, the husband being obliged to be absent ou 
business, with about forty of them encamped within less than 
that number of rods, and much nearer than any white set- 
tler, but they were sober, they had no liquor with them, and 
she said she felt no fear : but I forbear. I did not commence 
their eulogy, but to do them justice Osceola. 

Lairdsville. Dec. 1838. 



TUSCAROrvAS 

According to the bo fore-named tradition of Cusick. the 
Tusearoras were called Kau-ta-noh, and settled upon the 
Neuse river in North Carolina. Here they became a large 
and powerful nation. They were always the friends and 
allies of the Five Nations, a fact, which, added to the similar- 
ity in their language, is strong evidence of their common 
origin. In the many expeditions of the Five Nations against 
the Cherokees and Catawbas, they found the Tusearoras 
ever ready to furnish them food and a resting place, where 
they might recruit their wasted energies after so long a 
miareh. The Tusearoras were often at war with the Chero- 
kees, Catawbas, and other neighboring tribes, some of 
which they conquered. In 1708 it was estimated that they 
numbered 6,000 souls in North Carolina, besides those in 
Virginia and South Carolina. Becoming jealous of the 



XXX.] INDIANS. 883 

white settlers on account of some encroachments upon their 
lands, they (in 1711) seized John Lawson, Surveyor General 
of North Carolina (he having marked off some of their lauds), 
and after a brief trial put him to death. They also took the 
Baron Graffenried, a Swiss Protestant, who had formed a 
colony of Palatines, and kept him in confinement for some 
time. Fearing that these outrages would draw down upou 
them the vengeance of the Government, the Tuscaroras 
formed the bold plan of annihilating, in one day, all the Colo- 
nists south of Albemarle Sound. Dividing into small parties 
they commenced the work of d«ath on the 22nd of Septem- 
ber, 1711, and on that day 130 persons fell victims to their 
revenge. Aid was immediately demanded by North Caroli- 
na, from South Carolina, to assist in putting down the insur- 
rectio'n, and Col. Barnwell and a small force of whites and a 
larg3 body of Cherokee, Creek and Catawba Indians were 
soon dispatched against them. After killing 50 and taking 
250 prisoners, the Colonists came upon one of the Tusearora 
Forts upon the Neuse. in which were 600 warriors. The 
Tuscaroras, instead of risking an attack, sued for peace, 
which was granted. In a few days, however, the Tuscaroras- 
violated the treaty, and re-commenced their depredations, 
but not until the force of Barnwell had repaired to their 
homes. A second force, of 40 whites and 800 Ashley Indi- 
ans, was soon collected under Col. Moore, and in December 
they proceeded against the enemy, and after a fatiguing 
march through forests and swamps, encountering snow storms 
and freshets, they found the Tuscaroras within a wooden for- 
tification, upon the river Taw, about fifty miles from its 
mouth. Although well provided with fire-arms, the Tuscaro- 
ras were unable to resist the besiegers, who, by regular ap- 
proaches, in a few hours entered their works, and eight hund- 
red of their warriors were killed, or taken prisoners. The 



884 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

prisoners were claimed by the Ashley Indians, and were 
taken to South Carolina and sold as slaves. 

(Charles I. granted all the lands in North America, 
between the 31st and 36th degrees, north latitude, to Sir 
llobert Heath, on the conditions that he should establish 
settlements, " and christianize the native Indians." By 
various conveyances this immense tract became the property 
of Dr. Coxe, in the time of William III. Daniel Coxe, a 
son of the Doctor, published an account and map of the coun- 
try, in which he persisted in calling the territory Carolami. 
In consideration of releasing their interest in this territor}-. 
in 1770 the Patent of Coxborough was granted to the Cose 
family, and here we have the origin of the name CarolaiUi. 
as a township in Coxe's Patent.) 

Above we have an instance of the usual way of " Christian- 
izing the native Indians," the Tuscaroras. Their reverses in 
this contest, broke the spirit of the nation. They had sent 
runners to the Five Nations, asking aid ; but none came, or 
not until it was too late. The fort upon the Tav/ was taken 
in the fore part of the year 1712 (some say 1713), and a 
treaty was made in which the dispirited Tuscaroras agreed to 
aid the Colonists in subjecting their allies, the Corees and 
Mattamuskeets. Blount, their king or head warrior, brought 
in at one time the scalps of forty of the latter. This condi- 
tion ill-suited the haughty Tuscaroras, and parties often 
attacked the Colonists, which led to severe measures upon 
themselves. Defeated and broken, the Nation decided to 
remove to the territory of the Iroquois. Some authors place 
their removal in 1712, and Schoolcraft and others in 1714 : 
but it is probable that parties removed in several years. 
They had lost a thousand warriors, who represented a popu- 
lation of 5,000 souls. 

Arriving in the country of the Iroquois, they were cordi- 



XXX.] INDIANS. SS-^i 

ally adopted as the Sixth Nation : and although no territory 
was assigned them, they became the guests of the Oneidas, and 
occupied lands in the south-west corner of this county, with 
colonies with the Oneidas upon the Susquehannah. In 1730 
their numbers were estimated by the French at 250 warriors, 
or 1250 souls. In, 1763, Sir William Johnson estimated 
them at 140 men, or 700 souls. They seem to have always 
enjoyed equal honors and influence with other members of 
the confederacy. 

During the Revolution, a considerable portion of them 
were friends of the Americans, and joined their arms with 
the Oneidas. After the war, the Senecas granted them lands 
within the present limits of Niagara county, to which they 
soon removed, their title being confirmed by the State. 
They also purchased lands adjoining of the Holland Company, 
with the proceeds of lands sold in North Carolina. Here 
they have made greater advances in civilization than any 
other of the Six Nations. They bear the appearance of 
thrift and tidiness seldom seen among the others. 

In 1807, a mission was established among them by the 
Baptists, and soon after another by the Presbyterians. 
Schools were also established, in which the children have 
made fair progress. A Presbyterian church was organized 
many years since, which numbers about fifty members. In 
1836 a BaptLst church was formed, over which James Cusick. 
a chief and brother of David Cusick the historian, was 
ordained pastor, June 14, 1838. 

In 1845 the Tuscaroras numbered 53 families, including 
283 souls. They cultivated 2,080 acres of land, upon which 
they raised in that year 4,897 bushels of wheat; 3,515 do. of 
corn; 4,085 do. of oats; 1166 do. potatoes; 7,537 pounds of 
butter, and in like proportion of other products. Sixty of 
tlieir number were then members of Christian churches, and 



886 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAF. 

231 were members of temperance societies. Since 1S45. 
Rev. Mr. Cusick and a portion of his people have removed 
to the Indian country west of the Mississippi. The tribe is 
located in the town of Lewiston, about eight miles below 
Niagara Falls, and three miles from the river; and in 1840 
they owned about 5,000 acres of excellent land. 



STOCKBRIDGE INDIANS. 

The StocL'bridg€ Indians were named after the town of 
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where they resided. In 1735. 
the Legislature of Massachusetts granted a township, six 
miles square, to be laid out on the Housatonic River, for the 
use of these Indians and such other as might join them. 
The object of the colony was to collect them together in this 
place, where they could have the benefits of the Christian 
teacher and of schools. Previously they had lived in scat- 
tered clans, in the western part of the colony. 

They have been very generally known as the Mo-he-kan- 
iieews, (not Mohegans) and a corruption of their name is 
variously written, Mahhekaneew, Muhhekaneok, signifying 
'• the people of the great waters, continually in motion." By 
the early English Colonists they were also called River In- 
dians. In 1736. these Indians removed to the township thus 
granted them (the present towns of Stockbridge and West 
Stockbridge, Massachusetts), which was soon confirmed to 
them, their heirs and assigns. A meeting house and school 
house were erected for them by the colony, the first of which 
was opened for worship November 29, 1739. In 1734, a 
mission had been commenced among these Indians by Mr. 
John Sergeant (senior), then a candidate for the ministry, as- 
sisted by Deacon Timothy Woodbridge as schoolmaster, under 
the patronage of the Board of Commissioners for Indian 



XXX.] INDIANS. 887 

affairs in Boston. Mr. Sergeant wa.g tlien a tutor in Yale 
College, but relinqui.shing his place, was on the 31st of Au- 
gust, 1734, ordained at Deerfield, Mass., as a Gospel minis- 
ter. Upon the occasion of his ordination, Governor Belcher, 
a committee of both branches of the Legislature and a large 
number of Indians from several tribes, were present. The 
Stockbridge or Housatonic Indians, as they were then called, 
then formally accepted him as their missionary. The Indians 
at Stockbridge in a few years numbered from 4 to 500. In 
1741, Mr. Sergeant projected a manual labor seminary and 
boarding school, for the education of Indian youth : but, which? 
from the dangers and excitements which followed the com- 
mencement of the first French war, did not go into successful 
operation for several years. This school became highly popular 
with the Indians and inhabitants generally, and enjoyed the 
confiden<3e and aid of many of the best men in England, 
among whom were Dr. Isaac Watts, Capt. Coram, etc. Such 
were the benefits the Stockbridge Indians received from. thi.>s 
.school, that the Six Nations became interested in the ed'Aca- 
tion of their children, and held a council at Stockbridge, to 
consider the plan of sending their children here to school. 
Rev. Ml'. Sergeant died July 27, 1749, aged 39 years. He 
was a native of New Jersey, a gi-aduate of Yale College in 
1 729, and lived to see the Stockbridge Tribe increased from 
S or 10 families to more than 50, with a number of framed 
houses, and considerably advanced in agriculture. He left 
three children, the youngest of whom, John Sergeant, junior, 
will be named hereafter. Rev. Jonathan Edwards succeeded 
him in the school. The last French war destroyed the hopes 
of the Six Nations, with regard to this school, but to the 
iStockbridge Indians it was a source of many blessings. In 
January 4, 1758, Mr. Edwards resigned his charge for the 
Presidency of Princeton College, but died on th<? 22nd of 



SitB ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

iMarcli following. In 1759, Rev. Dr. Stephen West became 
the missionary and teacher of the Indians, a post which he 
tilled until 1775. 

Prior to this time, a tract of land, sis miles square, called 
New Stockbridge, had been granted to this tribe by the Onei- 
das, but the war of the Revolution prevented their removal 
to it for several years. During the last French war, the 
kStoekbridge Indians took sides with the English, and were 
many of them received as soldiers by Massachusetts. At the 
commencement of the Revolution they declared their attacli- 
ment to the Americans, and raised a company of "minuti- 
men.'' who subsequently acted as rangers in the vicinity of 
Boston, commanded by Capt. Timothy Yokun, one of their 
chiefs. A full company went to White Plains, under Capt. 
Daniel Nimham, another chief, where four were killed, and 
several died of disease. At the close of the war, Geu. Wash- 
ington directed a feast to be prepared for the Indians, in con- 
sideration of their good conduct, and an ox was roasted whole, 
of which the tribe partook, the men first, a.^d then the women 
and children. Rev. John Sergeant (junior) and Judge 
Dean presided at the table. 

In 1775, upon the resignation of Dr. West, Rev. John 
Sergeant, son of their first missionary, took charge of the 
mission and school. He had received an education at New- 
ark, New Jersey, and perfectly understood the language of 
the Indians. In 1783, a portion of the tribe removed to 
New Stockbridge ; in 1785, another portion ; and the residue 
of the tribe in 1788. In 1785, the Indian members of the 
church at Stockbridge, 16 in number, took letters of dismis- 
sion, and immediately formed a church at their new home. At 
this time, the tribe numbered about 420 souls. Mr. Sergeant 
was ordained pastor of the infant church, and regularly spent 
six months in the year at New Stockbridge, until 1 796, wheu 



XXX.] INDIANS. B89 

be removed his family hither. He continued his labors with 
this people up to the time of his death. He died September 
8, 1824, aged seventy-seven years. In 1796. the Legislature 
granted a tract of land, one mile square, adjoining Stock- 
bridge, to Rev. Mr. Sergeant, known as Sergeant's Patent. 
In 1818, the Stockbridge Indians numbered 438 souls, and 
owned about 17,000 acres of land in Oneida and Madison 
Counties. Nearly 150 years ago, the Miamis granted the 
the Stockbridge, Delaware and Munsee tribes the right to 
iiccwpy forever, a large tract of land upon the White Eiver, 
in Indiana. The Delawares went many years ago. and took 
possession. In 1818, about one quarter of the Stockbridge 
tribe went west, by invitation of the Delawares, to reside upon 
this land, the remainder of the tribe intending to follow 
jroon : but before those who started had arrived at their new 
liome. thej' learned that the Delawares had sold the whole 
tract to the government of Indiana. In 1821, the Six Na- 
tions and the Stockbridge, St. Regis and Munsee tribes, pur- 
(;hased of the Menominees and Winnebagoes. a large tract of 
land upon Green Bay and the Winnebago and Fox Rivers m 
Wisconsin. In 1822, a large part of the tribe rer,:aii'.Vlg. 
removed to that territory, and the rest soon followed. There 
they have made considerable advances in civilization, and are 
in general sober and industrious. 

The Stockbridge tribe preserved a tradition, that their an- 
cestors came a vast distance from the north-west, that in 
coming they crossed a water affected by tides, and thilt 
the next tide-water they saw, was upon their arrival at the 
banks of the Hudson. Many suppose that this refers to 
their passage from Asia to this continent, by way of Bhering 
Strait. 



890 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP. 

BROTHERTON INDIANS. 

The Brotherton tribe of Indians was composed of the 
remnants of various tribes who had resided in New Jer- 
sey, upon Long Island and the northern shore of liOug 
Island Sound. Many of them at the settlement of the 
country were powerful tribes, but all of them had become 
reduced to mere wrecks and remnants. The Oneidas in- 
vited them to come and reside upon their territor}', and the 
state governments also aided in collecting them together and 
settling them at their new homes. The tribes, which at dif- 
ferent periods have thus been consolidated to form the Broth- 
erton tribe, were the Nanticokes, Narragansetts, Montauk.?. 
Mohegans, Pequots, Nchantics, Conoys, Tutecoes, Saponeys, 
Shinecocks and probably some others. 

"When the Brothertons began to collect is a question diffi- 
cult to be answered, but is certain that the component rem- 
nants, which formed the . tribe, came at different periods. 
Their location was upon and near the Oriskany, within the 
liialls of the present town of Marshall. Having no common 
language, they early adopted the English, and soon no other 
was spoken among them. They derived their name Brother- 
tons from the fact of their union of so many tribes. 

At the time of the treaty of Fort Stanwis in November, 
1768, the Grovernor and Commissioners of New Jersey pur* 
flfesed of the Oneidas, with the consent of their attorneys, a 
tract of upwards of 30.000 acres, in trust for the natives of 
New Jersey, south of the Raritan, which tract took the name 
of Brotherton. In 1763, Sir William Johnson reported that 
the Nanticokes, Conoys, Tutecoes, Saponeys, etc., etc., num- 
bering 200 warriors (1000 souls), had removed from the 
fiouthward, and settled " on and about the Susquehanna, ob 



JXX.] INDIANS. 89 i 

lands allotted by the Six Nations," and lived immediately 
under their direction. These were doubtless Brothertons. 

On the 22d of June, 1775, the Colonial Congress of New 
York granted a pass to Joseph Johnson, "a Mohegan Indian, 
and licensed preacher among the Brotherton and Oneida 
Indians, and his three friends, James Shattuck, John Ske- 
suck and Samuel Tallman, to New London, Connecticut, and 
back" to Brotherton. In 1776, David Fowler and five other 
Indians, from Connecticut and Long Island, who were Bap- 
tists, removed to Brotherton, and established Baptist meet- 
ings, the second by that denomination west of Albany. (The 
first at Butternuts in 1773.) 

In 1786, the Rev. Samson Occum, a Mohegan, with 192 
Montauks and Shinecocks from Long Island, Mohcgaus from 
Connecticut, and Narragansetts from Rhode Island, emi- 
grated to Brotherton. Mr. Occum was born at Mohegan. 
near Norwich, Connecticut, in 1723, and at the age of nine- 
teen, entered Rev. Dr. Wheelock's charity school at Lebanon, 
and was the first Indian ever educated at that place. He 
was a thoroughly-educated Indian, and in 1748 taught a 
school at New London. Soon afterwards he removed to 
Montauk, Long Island, where he remained as a teacher for 
ten or eleven years among the Indians, by whom be was 
greatly beloved. He was also a part of this time a licensed 
preacher. lie was ordained August 29, 1759, by the Suftblk 
Presbytery. In 1766, he was sent to England by President 
Wheelock, to solicit aid for the Indian school at Lebanon, 
known in those days as More's Indian Charity School. 
Being the first Indian preacher who had visited England, he 
attracted much attention, and preached to crowded houses. 
He preached in the King's Chapel before George III. ; also 
in the pulpit of Whitfield ; and, indeed, "the noblest chapeU 
in the kingdom were open to him." He obtained large sums 



892 ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [cHAP. 

of money and much personal distinction. During his subse- 
quent life, he carried a gold-mounted cane presented to him 
by the king. The king, many of the nobility and persons of 
wealth and distinction became patrons of the school, and 
continued their contributions for several years. After his 
removal to Brotherton, he preached and labored with much 
zeal among his people ; and, also, preached a portion of the 
time at Stockbridge, in connection with Mr. Sergeant. He 
enjoyed the confidence of Mr. Kirkland and of Christians 
generally in the infant settlements in this section. For some 
time he was, it is believed, the only ordained minister be- 
tween the G-erman Flats and Oneida, and was called upon as 
such to preach, attend funerals and solemnize marriages, by 
the white settlers. He often visited the family of the 
author's father, where he was received as a messenger of 
''good news." He was a man of cultivated mind, pleasing 
address and manners, and in his life and conversation exem- 
plified the spirit of the Gospel. Even to this day, his name 
is venerated among the descendants of those he taught. He 
died at New Stockbridge, in July, 1792, aged sixty-nine 
years. 

By an act passed February 25, 1789, the Legislature of 
tliis State ratified and confirmed the grant made by the Ouei- 
das to the Brothertons, directing that said grant should be 
called " Brother Town," and that said lands should remain 
for " the cultivation, improvement and use of the said New 
FiUgland Indians and their brethren, consisting of the Tribes 
called the Mohegan, Montauge, Stonington and Narraganset 
Indians, and the Pequots of Groton and Nehanticks of Far- 
mington, and their posterity," without the power of alienation 
or right of leasing for any longer term than ten years. 

The very means used for the preservation of the Brother- 
tons, unless the Gospel and civilization had been immediately 



tiX.] INDIANS. 893 

mccessful, were the best calculated to destroy tbem. They 
ost all their national pride, and having neither tribe nor 
anguage, they became the most degraded and dissolute of 
.ny of the Indians in the State. Many of them possessed 
,ood farms, and might have enjoyed all of the necessaries, 
.,nd many of the luxuries of civilized life. In 1818, liev. Mr. 
■Sergeant wrote as follows : " If they (the Stockbridge Indi- 
es) lose their own language, they will lose with it their 
■ ational pride and respectability. This is the case of tlie 
'.rotherton Indians — they have lost their language, and are 
ow, perhaps, more corrupt than any other Indians in the 
ountry." 

With their neighbors of Stockbridge, the greater propoi-- 
on of the Brothertons removed to Wisconsin in 1822, and 
ue remainder followed in a few years. There a complete 
evolution has been effected in their character and habits, 
ad they have made great advancement in civilization, agri- 
ulture and the arts. By act of Congress they have been 
3clared Citizens of the United States. The report of the 
ndian agent for 1849, says that "in which capacity (of citi- 
ens) they appear advantageously, many of them, filling very 
espectably town and county offices under our State organi- 
ation. They have two schools, and are anxious that their 
iuldren should become educated as the whites." 

Many interesting reminiscences of the Brothertons are 
mbodied in the history of Marshall. 



CoRRFXTiov.— Page 836, transpose the 9th and 10th lines from bot- 
om, so as to read the 9th first. Page 837, 7th line, read " Ne-haw-rp- 
fth-go." Page 848, 1st line, read " Ca-no-wa-lo-a." Same page, lOtli 
jne from bottom, for " George," read " Governor." 



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